2016 Polar Plunge welcomes hundreds looking to make a fresh, chilly start to the new year
It was close to 80 degrees on Christmas day on Folly Beach. So the idea of stripping down to your skivvies and jumping in the ocean didn’t seem like that big of a deal. The days that followed were equally warm. The beaches were packed as if it was summer. Folks were in bathing suits catching rays.
Then sure enough, just as New Year’s Day approached, the weather turned considerably cooler, making the annual Polar Plunge a little bit more of a challenge. OK, no one needed to cut a hole in the ice to jump in the water, but the chilly Atlantic teetered around 60 degrees the day of the Plunge, keeping many on the shores to merely watch the fun.
Some plungers dressed like their favorite Bill Murray characters, others just wore goofy costumes, ranging from Chewbacca to former L.A. Laker Kurt Rambis. Many just went as they were, hoping the refreshing ocean water would wash away the muck of 2015 and rejuvenate them as they plunged headlong into 2016.
