PORT ANGELES — About 100 people celebrated New Year’s Day with a quick sprint into the chilly waters of the harbor.
The 16th annual Polar Bear Dip at Hollywood Beach featured a clear view of Mount Baker across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, air temperatures in the high 30s, water temperatures in the low 40s and smooth, slight waves gliding onto the shoreline.
With the tide already in and only a few beach logs to jump over, participants said the cold weather could not stop them.
“Oh, it was cold,” said Kristy Seelye, 21, of Port Angeles, after dipping twice. “But I think the water was warmer than the air.”
Seelye said she comes to the event each year to properly start the new year.
“It is a bang of a way to start the new year,” she said.
The event attracted more than 200 onlookers anxious to watch people, young and old, run, walk and leap into the winter waters.
People were encouraged to dip into the water two or three times to meet the requirements of becoming a polar bear.
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