Five Nanaimo men charged into the cold waters of Departure Bay on Boxing Day.
By doing so, the men kept a long-standing Nanaimo tradition — the Frank Ney Memorial Polar Bear Swim — going for another year.
“First time I did it was last year and look at the year we had,” said Nanaimo resident Phil Kay. “So hopefully this will reverse our fortune. We’ll have a better year in 2021.”
The swim, which normally draws hundreds of people to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay Beach, has been taking place each year for the last 61 years.
This year, however, it wasn’t formally held due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that didn’t stop a few hearty people from stripping to do the cold water plunge.
“I feel alive,” said Nanaimo resident Shawn Hall. “I feel humbled by the planet.”
Swimmer Christy Plommer said the cold water was a way to forget about the pandemic for a little while, and feel alive.
“It’s like 30 minutes of exercise,” said Christy Plommer, a Nanaimo resident. “All at once, whoosh.”
She was joined by musician Shawn Hall, whose group The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer, has been impacted a lot by COVID-19 cancelling concerts.
“It’s been a very heavy year,” said Hall. “I’ve gone from playing festivals and bars and stages my whole life to not doing any of that.”
While swimmers were doing the polar plunge for different reasons, there was agreement on one thing — it was a welcome cleanse from the year that’s been.
Skye Ryan
