The sun peeked through the clouds, but a chilly wind whipped the waves on Lake Padden as about 300 scantily clad people began 2006 by plunging into 41-degree water.

Bellingham's fourth annual Lake Padden Resolution Run and Polar Dip drew hundreds seeking a character-building New Year's Day experience, or just a chance to wear a grass skirt and a coconut bra. The event was free, and anyone wet could claim a certificate afterward.

"You can push yourself to do anything the rest of the year," said Fairhaven Middle School teacher Molly Foote, who was part of a group of neighbors, college friends and classroom buddies who planned to convene in a friend's hot tub after the dip.

Sunday was Foote's third New Year's leap into Padden.

"Discomfort can be fun," she said.

About 100 people warmed up earlier that morning with a run/walk around the lake. But the real crowds were for the swim.

About five minutes to noon, Lance Romo, program coordinator for the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department, announced to those huddling around the outdoor heat lamps and hot drink tables that it was time to shed their sweatshirts and wool socks and head for the water's edge.

Several women wearing grass skirts and leafy leis picked their way down the muddy slope. One slipped, and drew laughs and applause by shaking her muddy backside as she continued down the hill.

The cold didn't seem to bother Forest Chiavario and Rich Keeton, two carpenters who took the plunge wearing little more than briefs, cummerbunds and tattoos.

"It's a little slap to the gray matter," Chiavario said, seconds before he joined the mob running for the water.

Recreation Manager Dick Henrie dove in all the way up to the ears of his pink bunny suit. The pink synthetic fur helped keep the wind from chilling his wet skin after getting out of the water, he said.
 

Nancy Hanson wrapped up in a towel and planted herself next to a heat lamp until she stopped shivering.

"I'm not as cold as I thought I'd be," said Hanson, who was among the group of grass-skirted women.

"It's like a renewal," she said, breaking into a grin.