Community, Tradition, and Frozen Bottoms

The polar bear swim tradition continues strong in the west coast, and this new year was no different. I won’t lie, I wasn’t in the mood for mayhem the day after New Year's eve, but all those people causing a raucous without me present didn't sit well with me, and I arrived just in time to take a few hazy pics of the proceedings.

The southern end of the beach

There was a lot of activity on land and sea, as you can see from the various crafts congregated along the shore.

It was an overcast day with pale winter sunlight filtering through clouds and mist. A curtain of fog had earlier crept along the streets then retreated as the afternoon wore on, though it hung around along certain parts. It was cold at 3-4 degrees Celsius ( 39 °F ), and those waters are icy most of the year.

Hordes of polar bear swimmers jumped in the water hollering. For some, it was over in a minute or two; others swam out further into the ocean and lasted ten or more minutes. 💪

The crowd cheered!

The whole beach was packed and after the swim was over, a live cover band on stage belted out the classic rock tunes that echoed all along the bay.

Hardy ladies venturing out in the cold.

I was shivering standing there, so I didn’t hang around for long but kept moving on to warm up and explore further along the shore.

Block rocking beats bounced off the buildings.

This last image is tripping me out because some of those buildings look as if they're leaning to the side. It doesn't look like an optical illusion. That area is very hilly, and then flattens out near the ocean, where you can see the buildings are straighter. The shore also looks leveled, so it's likely the buildings themselves are not straight. But maybe it's just a visual illusion because this is the west coast and anything is possible. ✨

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