For those adventurous souls, the Fifth Annual Ocracoke Polar Plunge is on for 2 p.m. New Year’s Day at the airport beach.
This event, often called the Polar Bear Plunge in many other areas, is a popular phenomenon where people start the new year with a quick dip into the ocean. In addition to the United States, they also take place in Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Last year, about 35 brave folks did their dip on Ocracoke, up from only about six or seven the previous year, according to Justin LeBlanc who attributed the increase to social media with a posting on Facebook.
This year, LeBlanc is off-island and Jason Wells is organizing it.
Expect the weather to be cooler than what it has been the last week or so. Although the water temperatures may not be frigid, the Coast Guard issued a warning last week about not staying in the water for prolonged periods of time.
