Polar Bear Swim 2013
Published January 9, 2013
By Rachelle Chinnery
“It’s fifteen seconds of pain for a year of bragging rights” - Bob Sarti
Jumping into icy water at the peak of winter without having been in a sauna for at least three hours is sheer lunacy. Or so I thought. But after witnessing the exuberance of swimmers emerging from last year’s polar bear swim here on Hornby, I decided I had to take the plunge myself just to see what the fuss is actually all about. What’s so great about being so cold?
If you asked any of the swimmers why they went in, each one could give you an entirely different answer. And, each of them could describe to you a unique experience of the “swim”. Some felt the hardest part was diving into the water while others felt the wait for the plunge was even more torturous. Personally I thought emerging from the water after having dived under was something akin to an icy flaying. Like a million tiny blow torches set on -80 and pointed at every molecule of my being. But that’s just my take. The strangest part of all was how quickly the tremendous discomfort transformed into elation for everyone who went in. Within seconds of returning to shore, every swimmer wore the largest smile their cheeks could muster. There was a sense of having taken a dive into much more than the coldest waters imaginable. It felt like all the challenges you could ever take on would pale in comparison to that one. Life gets really easy after you’ve done a Polar Bear Swim. And – it was actually just really fun.
Attendance this year was almost ten times greater than last year. The huge success of this year’s Polar Bear Swim was due to the generous efforts of our Hornby Island Fire Department. Experienced fire fighters Rob Zeilinski and Julian Laffin spent two hours chopping wood to build a bonfire to warm the frozen participants. And Fire Chief Giff La Rose barbequed and served free hot dogs while hot chocolate and chai tea (donated by Jules and Ian) was served up by another two members of HIFR, Duncan McCaskill and Albini Lapierre. Special thanks goes to Deputy Doug Chinnery who organized the Polar Bear Swim this year with the assistance of Janet LeBlanq who revived the tradition of the post-swim dog show. A very Happy New Year to all!
Have a look at the photo essay of this year’s swim.
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