The temperature forecast for New Year’s Day is a relatively balmy eight degrees.
But that will likely still feel frigid for the intrepid swimmers expected to charge down the boat ramp at Port Moody’s Rocky Point Park for the annual Penguin Plunge.
The plungers hit the chilled waters of Burrard Inlet at 1 p.m.
How long they stay is up to their level of courage or craziness, depending on your perspective.
Registration opens at 11:30 a.m. and proceeds from the $5 cash fee for individuals — $10 for a family of four — go to the Pleasantside Community Association that’s organized the event since the 1970s. The group uses the money to support programs at Old Orchard Hall.
Last Jan. 1, dozens braved a cold drizzle to celebrate the new year — or shock their way out of their New Year’s Eve hangover — at the first Penguin Plunge in three years after the 2021 and 2022 editions were cancelled by COVID-19 public health restrictions. Most just ran quickly into the water and immediately reversed back up the ramp to warm by a giant bonfire administered by Port Moody firefighters. But a few lingered — even swam as far as the end of the pier — before coming to their senses.
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For bathers whose thick bathrobes or proximity to the bonfire won’t be enough to warm them up again — or even just the spectators there to cheer them on — coffee, hot chocolate and sweet treats will be available for purchase.
If you’re planning to go into the water, the In the Swim blog has some safety and survival tips. They include:
- Take a cold shower beforehand. That helps condition your body and lessen the shock from your sudden encounter with the chilly water
- Don’t stay in the water longer than five minutes. That’s when cold water can begin incapacitating your muscles, although serious hypothermia likely won’t kick in until you’ve been in the water for 30 minutes or more
- Bring a fluffy towel or bath robe to get dry immediately and don’t forget to pack a change of clothes, thick, wooly socks and heavy sweaters
- If you have a pre-existing heart condition, it’s probably best to watch others frolic in the water
And if you're Penguin Plunge experience turns out to be so invigorating you don't want to wait another year to repeat it, local real estate agent Sienna Josephson recently started a weekly meet-up of cold-water bathers every Wednesday at Old Orchard beach.
She said the frosty dips are a great way to clear the head and the experience is more fun and sociable when done with other like-minded swimmers who often retreat to a local coffee shop to warm up afterward.
