Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year! 2010 is officially here!


Shortly after midnight the buoy markers in the lake indicated that the weather is 45 degrees and the water is still at 46 degrees.
I'll bring the thermometer from the pool to see if it is any different near the shore and we'll check the air temp too.

I'm also bringing a 5 gallon Cambro of Hot Tang because it is the "official" beverage of choice for Polar Bears. Starbucks is providing us with hot coffee, regular and decaf. Yay!

Please come back to this post and leave a message....it's fun and special to hear from other Plungers.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a way to start the new year. This was my 5th Plunge with you guys at Mathews beach and it only gets better and better.

claudia.levi@yahoo.com said...

Fabulous fun! We all dunked in and are official unofficial 2010 polar bears!!!!!! Thank you City of Seattle and all of your employees! Also, Starbucks for the coffee!

Rachel and John said...

We had a great time at our first Polar Bear Plunge!! This is something I've always wanted to do; thanks guys for making it possible!!

Antonyia said...

My daughter who is 9 has been coming with me for a couple of years but this year was the first for my son who is 4. He decided that it's a girl thing and will be on the sidelines with his dad in the blanket next year. Finally got my sister and neice in this year too! We love it!

K_Thomas said...

This was our first year and now it will be our tradition. Thank you to everyone who helped get this together. See you next year!

Anonymous said...

How about a sound system - or at least a bullhorn, as in previous years, so everyone knows when the 1st wave for the little kids happens and that it's NOT the time for everyone to go in yet? It was really confusing, and we lacked the big community countdown. Also need more people handing out bracelets - that line got long and it was just a few minutes before plunging that we were still in line. It was very disorganized and less fun than previous years.

Anonymous said...

Also couldn't find the people handing out badges. With so many people - perhaps the organizers need signs or something.

Anonymous said...

2010/01/01 1455h
What a great event! Took the plunge in memory of Ruth Hanson RIP-2009 - she knew how to have a good time!

Unknown said...

This was my first Polar Bear Plunge, and I just want to say thanks for organizing it. What a great way to start off a new year!

Unknown said...

So what do we need to do to receive the badges mailed to us at home?

Henry Piaskowski said...

2010 was my seventh polar bear plunge and every year is better than the last. It has been amazing to watch what started as a relatively small event evolve into a Seattle tradition. We have to keep this going.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a great event! 2009 is washed away and 2010 is woken with a splash of cold water! :D

Anonymous said...

Today i watched my first plunge. Next year i will be in the water with the rest of you whether it is financially supported or not by the city. I took some photos of the fun today and they will be posted on www.kirklandviews.com tomorrow. Enjoy and email me if anyone wants jpg copies emailed to them. photoguyjeff@yahoo.com
Happy New Year!
Jeff Heinz

Anonymous said...

Today was excellent, was my first time, but I'll definitely do it the next years... thanks for the well-organized experience!!... and I'll look forward to get my 2010 official badge :o)

Unknown said...

Great day!!! please let me know how to get my badge, today was my first time. Thank you.

brog22 said...

Boy that was cold. Temp was holding at 44 degrees and crowd was holding and building at what?? 1500 ? who counted? Yikes what fun, what nuts. See you next year.

Anonymous said...

Arrived this morning dreading the plunge, left counting down for 2011! What an exhilarating start to the New Year! Thanks for making it happen!

protoalien said...

Love it! 5th time and fun as ever. Please, though, must have official bullhorn countdown next year!!

Anonymous said...

Loved it! Great job everyone! I plan on making this a yearly tradition and greatly appreciate all the hard work that goes into pulling-off an event like this!

Anonymous said...

First time doing the plunge for my boys. What a great experience. the only sad part was no 2010 badges- any word on how to get them??

Brog22 said...

Make sure you go over to the FaceBook event page that has some photos and two videos I just posted...will work on more.
Here link ==> http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=185207473691&ref=mf

Good luck Stay Warm

TIm L., Tacoma said...

What a wonderful New Year day with my family of 6! Will be cherished memory for this dad and daughter(9yr) who did their first double-dip Polar Bear Plunge! Extended thanks to all the staff who were so friendly and who did a wonderful job and to the Angel who brought us our two Badges-o-Courage!! We hope to be back for years to come and make it a tradition as my kids and wife and I continue growing up.

Sue Miller said...

My son dunked his head and I was too chicken. Way to go Toby!!!

Thanks for organizing!

Brog22 said...

To Tim and family ( and all of us) We will probably never grow up....but that is a Good Thing.See you next year.

Anonymous said...

my three year old took the plunge today with me, yeah for her. she will grow up polar bear-ing. thanks everyone for a great memory..

Anonymous said...

yay, that was so fun, gets better every year. I wasn't even nervous this time. I always feel tingly and happy the rest of the day.

Anonymous said...

YouTube of the event, albeit not a very good one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxeoqB15gEo&feature=player_embedded

Unknown said...

wow that was awesome! my first time, and will be 50 this year so beginning to celebrate by surprising myself doing things I normally would not think I was capable of! thanks Zeke and Sally for all your encouragment!

Anonymous said...

Did the Polar Bear Plunge at Mathews Beach for the first time 01/01/2010 but did not get a badge. Are there any more, I saw many people take more than one, are there any left for us bears?

Shamilicious said...

this was my first jump and i froze my butt off! It was awesome! What a great way to start the new year...OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW!!!!

Lisa D. said...

My 9 y.o. daughter and I 'plunged' for the first time - what fun! I hope this grand tradition will continue. I'd even register and pay to get that cute patch!

Toby Tobes said...

I had a wonderful time! Thank you for organizing this. I can't wait for next year. :)

Janet Wilson said...

Thank you all for the comments. We have begun planning for 2011 and are going to make sure that our PA system will be loud enough for all the hear the Official Count Down. I think we will set up a special area for the Cub Club and people needing a little more assistance for getting in - but we will all take the plunge in one Gynormous group! We are also going to set up some stations where people will "report to" and show "proof" that they have earned their Badge of Courage. We will also have Hot Coco in addition to the Hot Tang, Coffee and DeCaf.

Kathy said...

Yeah!!!! year #5 was great warm air little wind.
LOOKING for KATE from Austrailia, crewing on the private yacht. We got great pictures but did not get your e-mail/contact info. Kathy/Lana/Beth/B.T. Contact me kringo@seattlecca.org

Brog22 said...

Are we ready for 2011 Temp is holding at 48 degrees. Yikes where is my suit?