Polar plunge pros gear up for Sunday fundraiser

Even as Arctic cold grips the Northeast this week, the North Fork Polar Bears remain undaunted and undeterred as they gear up to host their third annual charity cold plunge this Sunday morning at Veterans Beach in Mattituck.

Never ones to shrink from a challenge, the merry band of chill seekers are aiming to raise $100,000 this year and top last year’s turnout of 300 people with 500 on Sunday.

Dafydd Snowdon-Jones, who co-founded the North Fork group with partner Patricia Garcia-Gomez, said this week in an interview that the cold snap doesn’t bother the polar bears, and that it shouldn’t concern participants.

“The weather will always be what it is,” he said. “Same goes for the water temperature. As in life, when we accept things as they are, we can show up and shine.”  

Also this year, a new element is being introduced: Plunge teams will compete against each other to see who can raise the most money.

Proceeds from the charity plunge will support both CAST — the Center for Advocacy, Support & Transformation — and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program’s ‘Back to the Bays‘ initiative.

To register for Sunday’s event, visit https://bit.ly/Plunge2025. Registration levels are $25, $50 and $125. Everyone participating can expect some North Fork Polar Bear merchandise, as well as discounts at local businesses. Food trucks will be on hand before and after the plunge. The top fundraising team and individual will each get a free mobile sauna rental delivered to their home by Bunji Box, a mobile sauna rental service on the East End that has become an ally to the polar bears.

Sunday morning registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and given the size of the expected turnout, plungers are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m., since the polar bears will plunge promptly at 10.

Pressure-free plunges

Last week, Ms. Garcia-Gomez took a deep dive into her cold water practice on NoFo Live, a North Fork podcast that livestreams on Instagram Fridays at 9 a.m., co-hosted by veteran polar bear Sunita Narma.

“I think one of my favorite things in life is introducing people to the transformative power of water,” Ms. Garcia-Gomez said. “I really believe that cold water asks more of you, but it also gives you so much once you go in and you cross that barrier, if you have one.”

The two women were joined on the podcast by ‘Back to the Bays’ director Kimberly Barbour.

Ms. Narma, a polar bear for several years and one of the group’s most vocal enthusiasts, said that — like many of those new to the practice — it took a village to get her into the icy waters at first.

“What I love is there never is any pressure to go into the water. And I love how the community is so supportive and encouraging, but also letting that experience flow at its own pace.”

Despite feeling intimidated, Ms. Narma said that just showing up for the weekly Sunday morning polar bear swim “really helped get me started on the journey.”

“It just made it easy,” she said. “And I watched other polar bears who were first-time plungers come in with that same hesitation that I had.”

There are a variety of methods of approaching the cold water.

Ms. Narma remembered a pair of women at last year’s fundraiser that “held hands and they literally ran in screaming and ran out, which is such a beautiful experience — but very different from a more Zen, peaceful approach” practiced by the polar bears on winter Sunday mornings.

Ms. Garcia-Gomez said that a spectrum of reactions is natural.

“The idea of going into cold water for many people is not very appealing, but that’s normal. If it feels unappealing to you as a first-time plunger, that’s absolutely what your body thinks … But what happens is, when you override that and you decide to go for it anyway, and you go in the water — and I’ve seen so many people go in — after about 30 seconds, the whole facial expression changes.”

Ms. Garcia-Gomez said there are no requirements to participate in a plunge — you can even just dip your toes in — but that if you can get in and stay in for a few minutes, submerged at least up to your neck, you’ll reap the greatest benefits.

“The vagus nerve in your neck is where your body learns to start warming itself … so it calms you down, begins to calm down your heart rate and you start to warm yourself,” she said. “So if you can make it, we encourage you to get in and get up to [your neck] and slow your breath down — and when you think it’s time to get out, just give it three more breaths.”

Within a couple minutes, the body warms itself and the initial discomfort fades away.  

Still, there’s no one right way for beginners to do it this Sunday. 

“If you want to go in to your ankles, to your knees, to your hips for 10 seconds, for a minute, whatever,” Ms. Garcia-Gomez said. “The point is just to join in the community at your own comfort level.”

What to wear and bring on Sunday

What to wear is also a key consideration for novice plungers.

Ms. Garcia-Gomez said that while some people wear neoprene gloves, booties or bathing suits, they’re not necessary for this weekend’s brief plunges at Veterans Beach.

“You don’t really need much. You don’t need a special bathing suit either. This is not a long time in the water, so it’s safe just to wear your regular bathing suit.”

Whatever a person chooses to wear in to the water, it’s vital to take it off as soon as you get out, according to Ms. Garcia-Gomez.

After getting out of the water, she said, quickly “take off your bathing suit and put on dry clothes.”

“Make sure you have dry clothes there to get warm,” she continued. “Many of us have dry robes, but you can bring a [regular] bathrobe to wear over your bathing suit in those minutes right before the plunge.”

A dry robe is an oversized waterproof changing robe designed for changing your clothes when you’re outside.

Ms. Garcia-Gomez recommended bringing a wool hat, dry shoes for your wet feet and “a towel or two — one to dry off and one to cover yourself in if you are changing on the beach.”

‘Something special’

The fundraiser is an off-shoot of the North Fork Polar Bears’ weekly Sunday morning swims, which run all winter.

“We light a fire, we bring warm drinks,” Ms. Garcia-Gomez said. “People get to know each other and it’s really wonderful and magical.”

The intrepid band of cold plunge enthusiasts meets at an Orient-area beach each Sunday morning from mid-October until mid-May. The group was founded in 2020 with just three people. By New Year’s Day, 2021, there were 10. Today there are 130 to 140 Polar Bears on the group’s lively WhatsApp channel.

There’s an extensive email list for those who are curious but are not yet ready to dive in ([email protected]) and an Instagram account with nearly 1,400 followers.

Last fall, the group launched its first ever coastal restoration project, in conjunction with the CCE Marine program’s ‘Back to the Bays’ initiative — establishing a new stewardship site for eelgrass, which supports water quality and habitat improvement in local coastal waters.

Mr. Snowdon-Jones told The Suffolk Times last spring that the group has really evolved into “something special.”

“There are lots of new friendships where people never would have met because they’re in different circles,” he said. “Even physical relationships — there are now several couples that were born out of the Polar Bears that never would have met. So you create a community, and it’s the birth of something special.”

The Sunday morning swims have also generated smaller, spin off groups that meet up regularly in Jamesport, Southold and other waterfront areas of the North Fork. For hard-core polar bears, there’s a 7 a.m. daily plunge — headed up by Mr. Snowdon-Jones — on winter mornings in the Orient area.

Ms. Garcia-Gomez said that cold water practice is a great way to learn how to face fear and grow from the experience.

“I’ve literally seen people go in for the first time, and then all of the sudden they’re going in every single day — because it’s the discovery of joy, and the discovery that you actually can do a lot more than you think.”