'It's invigorating': some Nova Scotians start their year with polar bear swim

Joanie McNally, from Sackville N.S., lost no time in kicking off this year's polar dips when she ran into the frigid ocean water at Queensland Beach on Nova Scotia's South Shore at 9 a.m. AT Monday.In doing so, she also fulfilled a long-standing personal goal.

"We're always at this beach, but this is the first time [swimming]when it's on the more frigid side," she said moments before taking the plunge.

"It's a bit of a challenge to start the new year on the right track."

The temperature sat around 5 C as McNally and 11 other swimmers stripped off their winter jackets, mittens and hats and went off into the icy waves.

McNally's husband and daughter, along with a handful of other spectators, cheered and hollered for the group as they ran from the frozen sand to the icy water.

Dave Morash, also from the Sackville area, said this is the coldest polar plunge he's done in at least six years.

Morash and a small group of fellow high school teachers have been doing the plunge together since 2018, but he says this is the first time since then that the temperature has been below zero on New Year's Day.

"It's invigorating, it's like all of your nerve endings start tingling," he said immediately after the dip.

"I always refer to it as a reboot, you sort of reboot your system like a computer. So here we go, here comes 2024," he said with a laugh as he dried off.

Monday's swim, while launching new traditions for some, also marked a departure from New Year's Days past in Halifax. For many years, swimmers jumped into the ocean from a city wharf as part of the Herring Cove Polar Bear Dip. The non-profit organization that had put on the event since 1994 cancelled the 2021 dip due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has not resumed since.

A recent social media post from the Herring Cove Polar Dip organization says it is "hoping to look at options going forward" for future events and asked for volunteer support.

When Halifax resident Darrell Robert found out there would not be an organized dip yet again this year, he suggested in comments on social media that people meet at Queensland Beach for an impromptu swim.

"It's nice to corral people and motivate each other to do something new on a new year," he said, adding he was pleased to see so many faces show up at the beach Monday morning. "I like to see people get together as a community, I think it's great and it's a great start to the new year."

Similar events, many of which are intended to raise money for charity, are set to take place in locations including Charlottetown, Saint John, N.B., Oakville, Ont., and Vancouver.