Do the Polar Bear Plunge 2015 : Disco Dive

Polar Bear Plunge 2015 : Disco Dive

 — by Martin Taylor —

Be Orcas and be alive on New Year’s Day 2015!  Revel in a wonderful Orcas Tradition: Orcas Island Rowing’s “Polar Bear Plunge.” Residents and visitors alike charge headlong into Cascade Lake en masse. Within a few seconds they re-emerge happy that they accomplished the feat, shocked into a clearer perspective on the world and ready for what  2015 may bring. The plunge is open to all comers. All you need is the attitude! The event starts VERY promptly at 11:00 a.m. on New Year’s day. It is too cold to stand around in your skivvies. So be there early and ready to go!

This year the theme for the event is “Disco Dive”.

There will be a hot fire and hot drinks to help with recuperation after the deed is done.

This year the Plunge will be at the traditional location at the ‘swim area’ at the north end of Cascade Lake. Easier access and parking and the big fireplace in the day use shelter make for a more comfortable location when there is a big crowd.

The “Plunge” event is a low key fundraiser for the Orcas Island junior rowing club (OIR). Donations are gratefully accepted at the Plunge. Each year a commemorative tee shirt is created. This year features a very cool design by one of the team’s rowers Melanie Flint. Melanie is a senior this year and it is her last year with Orcas Rowing. We will miss her terribly. The tee shirts will be available at the Plunge, or by contacting the club. Some rare historical shirts from past years will also be available at the event. There are sponsorship forms available from the rowing club website, www.orcasislandrowing.org in case you need some motivation to “take the Plunge.” Let your friends and family know how brave you are and raise a few bucks for the junior rowing club. The club is always in  need of funds. It’s a win-win. Do the Plunge for yourself and do it for Orcas Rowing.

This will be the 18th annual Plunge. The first one was on Jan 1st 1998. That year local sheriff’s deputies Ray Clever, Ed Commet and Herb Crowe were auctioned off to jump in the lake. Since then there has been a theme for each Plunge:

1999 – Winter Luau
2000 – Millennium Morning Toga Party
2001 – Soggy Prom
2002 – Soggy Super heroes
2003 – Washed-up Rock Stars
2004 – Frozen 50′s Soggy Sock Hop
2005 – Masquerade
2006 – Frozen Farmers
2007 – Freeze Your Booty
2008 – Hypothermic Haberdashery & Frigid Frocks
2009 – Save the Polar Bear
2010 – Hippy Nippy Dippy
2011 – Glacial Getaway
2012 – Frozen In Time
2013 – I Survived!
2014 – The Morning After
2015 – Disco Dive

To buy shirts call Jay Zier at 376-4507 or email jayzier87@gmail.com. For information about the Plunge event call Martin Taylor 376-6935, email martin@orcasdigerati.com or check on the club website www.orcasislandrowing.org.

The Coaches of Yor

The First Plunge 1998