'Why not jump into icy cold water?': Polar dippers kick off new year in Charlottetown

The crowd of spectators was much larger than the number of people lined up to go into the icy waters of the Charlottetown harbour for Thursday's polar bear dip.

Conditions were icy for the 36th annual dip, but it didn't dampen people's excitement for the event.

Organizer Jake MacCallum said they decided to bring people two at a time to a small area they had cut in the shallow water.

"When you're in the cold you just want to get out, but we're going to do our best to keep things moving in an orderly fashion" said MacCallum.

He said doing the polar dip is not easy, but it's a great way to set yourself up for other challenges in the new year.

"If you can do this, what else can you do?" said MacCallum.

Exhilarating feeling

Organizers estimate about 150 people went into the water. Some people were fully submerged, while others just did a quick dip. All seemed relieved upon getting out of the water, greeted by hoots and hollers from the crowd.

Jennifer Riley has been doing polar bear dips for about five years. She said it's a good mental challenge.

"It's just kind of an exhilarating feeling," she said. "Why not jump into icy cold water?"

Cathrina Mugford said it's basically like a cleanse.

"Just you know, start everything fresh, wash all the bad off and hopefully hope for the good," said Mugford.

Canadian way of life

Some of the polar dippers were first-timers, some of whom were new to Canada and P.E.I.

Ivan Garrido moved to P.E.I. from Chile a couple of years ago.

"It was great, it was great," he said. "I feel better for trying new things like this, you know."

He said he'll definitely do it again next year.