Gary Haber
About 150 hearty souls started Super Bowl Sunday with a dip in the chilly waters off Patchogue in the Patchogue Young Professionals fourth annual Polar Plunge.
Some waded in tentatively. Others ran into the water. Some stayed in the water and splashed around long after others darted back to shore.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Dylan Moyse, who did the plunge with his girlfriend, Jessie Reisert. “It’s an indescribable feeling. I held my breath and dove in.”
“My legs were numb,” said Reisert, a first-time polar plunger. “It was freezing.”
“It’s my first plunge, but not my last,” she said.
This year’s event featured above-normal temperatures and a heated tent, which gave participants a warm place to hang out before and after the swim.
This year’s event also raised money for Angels of Long Island. The goal was to exceed last year’s total of about $7,000, said Tiffany Rivera, a co-founder of Patchogue Young Professionals and one of the event’s organizers.
“It means everything to us,” Angels of Long Island founder Debbie Loesch said. “It’s really a blessing. The community support is phenomenal.”
Heather Beahan said this was her second Patchogue Polar Plunge, but she’d done similar events in New Jersey.
“I love it,” she said. “It’s invigorating. It’s fun to challenge yourself.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here