Weelll... I hhhhaaave to adddmit thatttt it wasss verrrry cccccold! The water temperature this year (42.8ºF) was just a little colder than last year (43.7ºF), but this time, there was some snow on the beach!
Some like me were wearing some shoes or water boots, but lots were just bear (ha ha) feet. brrrr !
The crowd was very mixed, childrens, parents, costumes, or not...
Lots of fun, lots of shivering too !
The swimmers that are waiting to get the green light (yep, it's a real race for some!) sing and scream. Then the crowd starts to move, the race just began, and the massive run of hundreds of people running toward the water litterally throw you in the water. This moment is so messy I couldn't get any good pics, but I'm sure you can find some on the Flickr Group.
The run is pretty intense, imagine that you are surrounded by hundreds of people (with some very ridiculous ones :) ) running and singing toward icy water. You actually start to get wet way before reaching the shore, as the splashing of the crowd reaches from far away. You really feels the cold when the water level reaches your upper body, and definitelly is the worse when you put your head under the water... then it is so cold that your skin kinda hurts. But as everyone is shouting, singing, laughing and 'happy new yearsing' all around you, you don't feel the pain... well, not so much... brrrrr!
After the swim, you can go get your button to prove to your friends that YOU did it (yep, you're the weird one who did it). I actually went back to the water, as I was already wet and cold, it's just so fun to swim in it !
A lot of photographers are running around taking pictures of all the different costumes and groups. My favorite this year was the balloon man!
Another GREAT experience with my second polar bear swim, 2009 starts in the most awesome way. Now that I know I can swim, I'll get the Kitesurf out as soon as the wind come
Awesome... tu es fou.
Awesome... tu es fou.
Oui, vous etes bien fou
Oui, vous etes bien fou