Dan's Papers - December 21, 2007

Baby it's cold outside! On December 15, myself along with 600 others participated in the Polar Bear Plunge at Cooper's Beach in Southampton. The money raised by us nutcases went to the Human Resources of the Hamptons Foundation. "It benefits every walk of life in the community," said volunteer Marcella O'Callaghan of HRH. "The first year was a small group and it has grown every year."

Growing up in Kentucky with no saltwater in sight, I never imagined that I would be at the beach during the winter, let alone plunging into the ocean. I arrived at the freezing cold beach to a mess of people scurrying around to register and find their groups in time. There were characters in costume, along with normally dressed people like myself. I began to feel nervous when a voice over a microphone announced that this was the coldest year yet. I felt a little better as I bumped into a familiar face, James Pedersen, who makes delicious pina coladas at Meschutt Beach Hut during the summer. Pedersen looked ready to go, with a smile on his face and a towel around his neck. He said that it was warmer last year, with a lot of people standing around in their swimsuits and shorts. But this was not the case this year, with the exception of a group from CB's Bar and Grill in Hampton Bays, who were all wearing hula skirts. The air was cold but the spirit was warm as a couple of girls drew on themselves in black marker in preparation for the plunge. Corrine Schrage and Kate Hoffman of East Quogue said they were "stoked," as they handed their robes to their towel boy, Mike Carpenter, who added, "It's way too cold for me."

After I registered, I received my Polar Bear Plunge 2007 armband. For me, the hardest part was taking off my clothes on the freezing cold beach. I think everyone was waiting until the very last minute to strip down to bathing suits. Volunteers from the Surfrider Foundation dressed in wetsuits and with surfboards took their places as lifeguards in the waves. All of a sudden the cannon fired and off we went. I went all the way in and felt like I couldn't breathe for a second, then I ran back out to the beach screaming, "Oh my gosh it's cold." The sand was so cold that it was stinging my feet and as I put on my sweats I felt proud that I had plunged. Of course, later, as I bragged about my feat, many people rained on my parade by telling me that the water was not that cold right now, but I did not see them in their swimsuits earlier that day. After all, getting in the water during the wintertime is a crazy thing to do. Some play it cool, but I felt that it was not only a fundraiser but also a life experience.

As always in the Hamptons, the community came together and raised funds for an extremely important charity and had a good time doing it. Approximately $80,000 went to HRH that day. Many organizations throughout the community donate per employee. For each Southampton School District employee who plunged, a $100 donation was made and former Southampton College employees were also backed by $100 each. For every Southampton High School student who plunged $50 was donated and every Southampton Village employee and Southampton volunteer firefighter or ambulance personnel was backed by $100. Employees of Wright & Company Construction were backed by $100 each plus $25 if they were wearing a Wright Construction hat while plunging. The Southampton Village donated $250 for each official that jumped in. There was also a beautifully decorated Christmas tree on display that came all the way from its spot in a park in Sag Harbor to show support. Decked out in his golfing wardrobe, James Frankenbach of Southampton said, "This morning I was playing Saint Andrews 'the old course' when this large mass of water got in the way and the ball came over here." When asked if he would be getting in the water, he said that he would only go in if he did not hit the ball back over the water. I think that meant that he would be participating.

Afterwards, warm refreshments were served on the beach, but it seemed like everyone cleared out pretty quickly afterwards. In a matter of minutes people piled into their cars with the heat blasting and headed home.