NORDLAND — They flock to this Marrowstone Island village each New Year’s Day to drop their clothes, jump off the dock into bone-chilling waters and swim like crazy to shore before they turn blue.
The annual Nordland Polar Bear Dip in Mystery Bay is northern exposure of the worst kind, and nobody seems to care.
They can thaw out in a warm boat house and sip a hot latte or a cold Port Townsend Brew after it’s over.
The 14th annual Nordland Polar Bear Dip starts with a splash at noon Thursday across Flagler Road from Nordland General Store owned by Tom and Sue Rose, who sponsor the event.
Sign up today or at the store or at the event on Thursday.
Tom Rose nicely bugs reporters and photographers to jump in with the rest. About 120 of the non-journalistic kind took the plunge last year.
“It’s the only way you can really get the feel of it for the story,” he said.
Sideshow attractions
Sideshows at the dip, which draws daring dippers of all ages from as far away as Tacoma, include kiss-planting Dip Queen Miss Behavin’ and the rockin’ tuba-accordion duo of Chuck Easton and George Radebaugh.
“You never know what Miss Behavin’ is going to show up as,” says Rose, adding that Easton and Radebaugh “really play a mean ‘Wipeout.'”
No apologies to the Surfaris is necessary.
East Jefferson Fire-Rescue volunteers stand by wearing dry suits, but Rose said its all in good fun and no one has gotten hurt over the years.
If you would rather watch near-naked people plunge into the water and see how Miss Behavin’ plunges without losing her wig, Marrowstone Island is a scenic drive from state Highway 19 in Port Hadlock.
Take Ness Corner Road, which turns into state Highway 116, which winds past Naval Magazine Indian Island and on to Marrowstone.
With water temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees and a possible wind chill factor of 10 degrees below an expected high temperature of 43 degrees on Thursday, who knows what could happen?
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsula dailynews.com.
