Ready for New Year's? Polar Bears, unite!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

With Thanksgiving behind us, Christmas looming in front of us, and New Year’s threatening in the distance, it’s once again time to think about swimming in Lake Michigan! :eek:

The Jacksonport Polar Bears would like to invite Dopers and others to join them at noon on January 1st, 2004, for a delightful dip in the fresh waters off Jacksonport, WI.

Anyone who lives in Chi-Town, Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, or otherwise within driving distance of Door County, Wisconsin should mark this as their Jan 1st destination. You haven’t lived until you have made the plunge, and once you’ve done it, you will come back to do it again. Some have for 18 years and some families do it together! Over 800 swimmers are expected this time.

If you are a Polar Bear virgin, be sure to read the helpful hints on the JPPB web site. Polar Bear veterans will know the drill – plan ahead and get there early!

Not brave enough to get wet? Come anyway, join the cowards, take some pictures, cheer on the rest, then retire to one of the nearby pubs for a beer or a hot toddy!

Suggested attire for the event if you are female

As Tom Minahan once said,

See you on New Year’s Day!

2

So? Did I convince anyone to become a Polar Bear?

3

Musicat, if you’re near Sheboygan this winter, pop in. I’ve got a hot tub on our deck overlooking the beach. Great for warming up before taking on the lake, and great for treating mild hypothermia after.

No, I won’t be making the jump myself. Once the lake temperature goes much below 45 degrees, I stay out. I’ve got a family to provide for. I will go from the tub into a snow drift and back, though. That’s fun.

4

Good idea, QtM. Polar Bears and hot tubs go together. I’ll just take my jetski from my beach to yours, avoiding the icebergs along the way. :slight_smile:

But since, according to the JPBC home page, neither the lake or air temp has risen above 45°F in the last 18 years of January 1[sup]st[/sup]s, I guess we won’t be seeing you at the festivities this year. You’ll just have to read about it in the papers and watch it on TV (Green Bay stations often cover the event, and sometimes they even become part of it by accident).

Our motto: Many are cold but few are frozen.

5

Well, Sheboygan has a pretty active Polar Bear club too. As does Milwaukee. But I’ll be content to sit in the hot tub and watch the ice float by. Or any frozen bodies.

Jetski down if you like. As long as you’re not one of those silly sods who takes their jetski out an eighth of a mile, and spends the next two hours going round and round and round in front of the same halfmile of beach. I am not a violent man, but they do tempt me to become one. So far I’ve kept my fantasies down to a water-balloon cannon. And a bazooka.

I do like cold water. I swim earlier and later in the season than anyone else along the beach. I do enjoy the brisk 50 degree water, and hypothermia is positively mood altering. I’ll stay in for at least 10 minutes!

But I do want to survive the experience. The one time I did jump in the lake with ice still floating in it, I had the most distressing cardiac arrhythmia. And auto-CPR is not my strong suit.

Besides, my ancestors were fishermen here on the lake. Enough of them lost their lives in cold water. Interestingly, those that earned their living on the lake rarely (if ever) went swimming recreationally. Swimming was what you did to keep from drowning.

My motto: It’s good to live on the lake.

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The solution to this problem, according to a friend of mine who shall remain nameless[sup]*[/sup]: The accurate application of a small nuclear device.

Alternatively, you might try riding one (a jetski, not a nuke) sometime. Who knows, you might find out they’re fun!

Jacksonport Polar Bears Motto #2: No one has died yet.

Just curious, QtM – how big a crowd (in the water, out of the water) do you get around Sheboygan? From this site I Googled, it looks like all of three people.

[sup]*[/sup]Charlie Brown, as channeled by Tom Lisjac

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Oh, I have. I’m not knocking the use of them. I went out at least a half mile, straight from shore, then cruises for miles. Or did my doughnuts well out from shore so I didn’t sound like a chainsaw right in someone’s ear.

I also don’t go in and out and in and out between sandbars and swimmers, over the same small stretch of beach, where people are trying to swim and sun and play.

We’ve had over 400 at a time, generally more than they get in Milwaukee. Here’s a link with a picture: http://www.wisinfo.com/sheboyganpress/news/archive/local_7908689.shtml

8

Are there any Polar Bears in Virginia Beach? I tried for years to find the group in Indianapolis, only to come up with nothing, and then have to watch the festivities on the news…

Maybe, since I’ve moved, I’ll have better luck joining the fun.

9

A friend and I did this this past February in Madison for the Special Olympics.

It was awesome. Although I was damn cold coming out, after a dunk in the hot tubs, it was one of the most invigorating feelings I had ever had.

I’ll probably do it this winter, though I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to this one specifically.

10

Man, I wish I lived in the area…I would so be there. I’m a polar bear at heart, but no real opportunities around me. Might be roadtrip time?

11

Googling for “polar bears virginia beach” came up with this, though it seems to be an event in Rochester. I don’t know my NY geography – is that close?

There is a short list of links at the bottom of the Jacksonport Polar Bears main page, and a link to another list in Colorado. Sadly, the Colorado list has many broken links and many clubs mentioned don’t even have web sites.

I have wanted to put together a comprehensive world-wide Polar Bear Club link list for years, but have been frustrated by two things; one, there don’t seem to be many with well-designed web sites, and two, searching for “polar bear clubs” requires shuffling thru motorcycle clubs and those concerned with real, live bears of the animal persuasion.

I would welcome links to other clubs with good web sites. So far, I think our Jacksonport site is one of the best – we have 17 years of photos and captions plus auxiliary data on road trips, a how-to page, stats on water & air temps, and quotes from participants. Every year we add at least one new page.

Akennett, all roads and some lakes lead to Door County, WI. How far away are you?

Easy e, lots of people come up to Door County from Madison; my immediate neighbor lives there. No problem.

Here are some maps courtesy of Mike’s Port Pub.

Qadgop, I’m with you on the JetSki situation. I’m more of a long-distance rider myself. If you know Door County, you may appreciate the fact that over the years, I have made 3 trips circumnavigating the peninsula, returning to the start via the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal.

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I do envy you the northern 3rd of the lake. I’ve bopped about Chambers, Washington, Rock, St. Martin’s and Beaver islands in my misspent youth, and miss the fun of exploring coves and inlets. The lake is pretty damned straight up and down here!

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Oh, 'bout 850 miles or so. At least according to mapquest.

I’ll have to start the search closer to home, as I now have plans for around New Year’s time anyway. There’s always a stream or lake around here somewhere.

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Akennett, now’s your chance! Start a Polar Bear Club in your neighborhood! J.R. Jarosh did, 18 years ago. The first three years, he was the only participant, then 2 joined him, then 10, and when the local TV stations started coming by (and falling in), it mushroomed into the hundreds we have today.

The Jacksonport Polar Bear Club site has the year-by-year illustrated history if you want to see how this event grew.

Only 850 miles? Pish-posh! We have swimmers that hail from foreign countries!

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It’s today!

Come to Jacksonport and swim at noon!

The water is cold, the air should be in the mid-30’s by noon. Cloudy, not many waves, snow expected later but none on the beach right now. The beach is nearly ice-free due to our recent warm weather.

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I swam my kilometer in the pool today. It was nice. there were some European girls in bikinis.

Can I be an honorary polar bear?

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Easy for you, Paul in Saudi, look where you’re located. Did the temperature fall much below 70°?

18

Sure, why not? :slight_smile:

The Jacksonport Polar Bears have survived another plunge with no fatalities. New pictures, including some American girls in bikinis, are posted on the 2004 PBC page.

It looks like we had about 600 swimmers this time. Very little ice and snow compared to other years, and the waves held off until late in the day. Temps around 32F in both the air and water.

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The South Florida Polar Bear Club went to Virginia Key, just before Key Biscayne, off the mainland of Miami, just this afternoon. It was quite nice.

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And may I add, “no shrinkage!” Water temp around 71.