The event was hosted by the city of Bellingham and the Bellingham Bay Swim Team. Participants received a certificate. Starbucks Coffee and Great Harvest Bread Co. provided coffee, bread and hot chocolate. Arne Hanna Aquatic Center provided lifeguards.

At least 150 New Year's Day revelers lounged into 39-degree Lake Padden at the first Padden Polar Dip.

Within two seconds, most turned and ran back to the beach.

Karol Weston and sisters Marcy Plattner and Ida Forsythe, dressed in tulle tutus, flippers and hats with yellow duck bills, grabbed hands and ran into the near freezing lake.

"It was colder than I ever imagined it would be," Weston said.
"At first there was no sensation, except excitement. Then you
realize you were just going down into the water."

Screeches and yells resounded as the horde of plungers ran at the chilly water, which was just 2 degrees below the air temperature registered at 11:00 a.m. by Lance Romo, recreation coordinator for Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department.

The department sponsored the event, along with Bellingham Bay Swim Team. Five lifeguards stood nearby, including one in a kayak and another swimming in a wetsuit.

Before the dip, about 200 people participated in a run on the 2 1/2-mile trail around the lake, despite a driving fain. Runners slid into the finish line on a muddy patch of grass.

No one seemed deterred by the weather. 

In fact, many people said the cold rain was "perfect" for the event because it typified Bellingham weather and plunged the water temperature further.

1-minute event

Bellingham Bay Swim Team trains competitive swimmers ages 6 and older. Head assistant coach Jim Williams said that after years of hosting three-daylong swim meets, he was excited to plan an event that began at noon and ended a minute later.

"And we get home in time for the Rose Bowl," he said.

Plus, since the team's training pool at Arne Hanna Aquatic Center was closed for the holiday, the plunge provided an opportunity for team members to not miss a day in the water, he said.

The plunge was one of two in the county on Wednesday. At Birch Bay, nearly 200 people raced into the bay at the 19th annual Polar Bear Plunge.

Robin Smith of Bellingham ran into the water the past several years at Birch Bay, but decided to try the Lake Padden dip this year.

Donning a purple-and-red Dr. Seuss-style hat, diving booties, a T-shirt and shorts, Smith has previously coaxed her husband and daughter to take the plunge with her. They didn't join her this year, but Smith's sister, Melissa Thompson, did.

Thompson said she considered the plunge a cleansing for the New Year, washing away the old and preparing for the new. She had second thoughts about 20 minutes before the noon start, when she dipped her hand into the water and got the chills.

Roger and Lynda Burke of Lynden couldn't wait for the starting gun. They plunged in about 11:45 a.m. Roger Burke said the adrenaline rush of running into the water staved off the cold, but his bare feet on the cold ground afterward prompted him to run for his shoes.

"My dad is the man!" the Burkes' daughter, Madison, 7, exclaimed as he wrapped himself in a towel.

2003 Pictures
Courtesy Photos