{"id":86346,"date":"2025-12-08T17:35:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/86346\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T17:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:35:08","slug":"meet-the-brave-souls-who-put-your-polar-bear-plunge-to-shame-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/86346\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the brave souls who put your polar bear plunge to shame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most mornings, the Blue Boobies arrive in waves at the Albany Beach parking lot.<\/p>\n

Some days, they start as early as 6 a.m., appearing in the dark, attaching themselves to lit buoys and venturing out, barely visible in the predawn light. Then, another wave around 7 a.m., after the sun\u2019s up, and another at 8. This swim group\u2019s name is not only a reference to the blue-footed seabird but also the, well, physiological impact of prolonged cold water exposure to female bodies. It\u2019s also a nod to a U.K.-based open-water swim group called the Bluetit Chill Swimmers<\/a>, a group that grew out of a pandemic-era shift toward open-water swimming that\u2019s become global and now has chapters around the world.<\/p>\n

But you won\u2019t find these swimmers calling themselves polar bear swimmers. That\u2019s for people who swim in truly cold water in the winter \u2014 think Lake Tahoe in the 30-something degrees \u2014 or for members of San Francisco\u2019s illustrious Dolphin Club<\/a> participating in its polar bear challenge to swim 40 miles in the bay between Dec. 21 and March 21. There, swimmers assiduously track their mileage on logs at the club, and those who complete the challenge receive commemorative marble blocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an enjoyable \u2014 even if occasionally painful \u2014 ritual that we enjoy,\u201d says Diane Walton, former Dolphin Club president.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Dolphin Club member Joe Illick stands in front of the club’s Polar Bear swimming challenge charts where swimmers track their progress to 40 miles of winter swimming on March 1, 2015. (Courtesy of Krist Jake)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plenty of groups organize polar bear dips, where people run into the water, scream, and run back out. But to complete the polar bear challenge at the Dolphin Club is a significant achievement of endurance and grit, she explains. And while completing the Dolphin Club\u2019s Polar Bear challenge is a remarkable feat of athleticism, the swimming hub itself possesses a huge advantage over other Bay Area swimming spots: It\u2019s got a clubhouse with hot showers and a sauna right next to the water.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Blue Boobies don\u2019t have an easy way to warm up post-swim, adding a level to the challenge to open-water swimming. Member Colleen Haraden-Gorski says she\u2019s glad her car ignition turns on with a button. Otherwise, she\u2019d struggle to start her car. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s how cold it is when you\u2019re out for a while,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how much you shake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BlueBlue Boobies member Colleen Haraden-Gorski, left, rinses off with fresh water after a dawn patrol swim at Albany Beach on Oct. 2, 2025. The open water swim group takes part in several early morning swims every week. (Aric Crabb\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the lack of warming-up facilities hasn\u2019t stopped the Blue Boobies and several other groups like it from thriving around the Bay Area, thanks to growing interest in open-water swimming. During the pandemic, many public pools were shut down, and swimmers turned increasingly to natural bodies of water for exercise.<\/p>\n

One such swimmer was Jenny Fosket, who in 2022 was turning 50 and made it a personal mission to swim every day for a whole year and blog about it, starting with her birthday in early January. She spent the year swimming primarily from the Albany Beach with the Blue Boobies, but also from other open-water destinations around the bay, including in Alameda, Sausalito, San Francisco and as far south as Coyote Point in San Mateo. She also took a trip to Ireland and, while swimming in a group, witnessed an elderly woman, normally bound to a wheelchair, take off when she got into the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of the magic of water,\u201d she says. \u201cWater is this loving presence, just helping you along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, she\u2019s working on a memoir about the experience.\u00a0\u201cI think that year of swimming helped me rewrite my sense of what it means to succeed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"BlueBlue Boobies members take part in a dawn patrol swim at Albany Beach on Oct. 2, 2025. (Aric Crabb\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

For many open-water swimmers, swimming in the bay is a way to find calm at the start of one\u2019s day and reconnect with nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so amazing to watch the sun come up when you\u2019re on the water,\u201d says Haraden-Gorski, who\u2019s been swimming for about seven years at Albany Beach. \u201cSome of the most magical mornings for me personally have been on those early morning dawn patrol swims.\u201d Being able to swim in the bay is particularly meaningful for her, as she\u2019s spent her career in the water resources field, working to improve water quality in the bay.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, though, she says, the nature gets a little too close \u2014 specifically, some of the younger male harbor seals. \u201cThey\u2019ve actually tried to hump me before. That was a little much,\u201d Haraden-Gorski says with a laugh. \u201cBut at the same time, I was touched that a marine mammal found me interesting enough to make the moves on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But amorous seals are only one obstacle these swimmers face. Hypothermia is a more common one. Regular open-water swimmers say that knowing one\u2019s limits is critical to staying safe, as is swimming with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it is cold, you want buddies around you in case you start getting more cold than you want to be,\u201d says Rebecca Tilley, member of the Blue Boobies and Dolphin Club.<\/p>\n

As the swimmers describe it, it takes a certain comfort with discomfort, built up over months of acclimatization to the chilly temperatures, to return day after day, to the bay\u2019s waters \u2014 especially in winter.<\/p>\n

Ask Kim Krause, who swims regularly from Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda with a smaller group of around six regulars. Yes, sometimes the cold is shocking. It can make your breathing funny. And sure, she says, she\u2019ll recognize it\u2019s a particularly cold day when, after her swim, her face is so cold she struggles to get it to cooperate in forming words. But to her, that\u2019s part of the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people would never want to do this, but I like it, actually,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"BlueBlue Boobies member Colleen Haraden-Gorski, left, takes part in a dawn patrol swim at Albany Beach on Oct. 2, 2025. (Aric Crabb\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re body\u2019s reacclimating to normal temperatures, you feel pretty tingly and wonderful. You get kind of giggly and goofy,\u201d Haraden-Gorski says. \u201cYou just want to make sure you\u2019re not too goofy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BlueBlue Boobies members take part in a dawn patrol swim at Albany Beach on Oct. 2, 2025. (Aric Crabb\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you go:<\/p>\n

Never swim alone.
\nWhen starting out, take time to learn how your body responds to the cold, and don\u2019t swim out past where you can stand.
\nBe aware of the tides and currents where you\u2019re swimming.
\nConsider taking an open-water training. For instance, Odyssey Open Water Swimming<\/a> offers private swims, lessons and group open water swims.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Polar Bear plunges and swims:<\/p>\n

Polar Bear Pool Party: 1:30-3 p.m. Dec. 20, 2025. Pleasant Hill Aquatic Park, 147 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill. Brave the chilly temperatures of the training pool, then hop into the heated pool, plus enjoy aquatic games and hot cocoa at this kickoff to the winter season. $18 and up. pleasanthillrec.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Polar Bear Plunge: Jan. 3, 2026, Robert Livermore Aquatics Center, 4448 Loyola Way, Livermore. More information at: larpd.org\/polar-bear-plunge-2026<\/a><\/p>\n

San Mateo County Polar Plunge: 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Feb. 28, Coyote Point Beach, San Mateo. Plan a dunk into the duck pond at Coyote Point in San Mateo at this Special Olympics Northern California fundraiser. $125. p2p.onecause.com\/san-mateo-polar-plunge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bay Area 5K & Polar Plunge: 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., March 21, 2026, Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach, Alameda. This costumes-encouraged fundraiser for Special Olympics Northern California invites participants to run a 5K along the beach before plunging into the bay. $125. p2p.onecause.com\/bay-area-polar-plunge<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most mornings, the Blue Boobies arrive in waves at the Albany Beach parking lot. Some days, they start…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5445,389,3571,184,13719,7,390,48490,392,332,393,181,971,17030,23,143,145,144,1727,395,2944,12464,101,396,2651,397,198,200,127,420,398,399],"class_list":["post-86346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda","tag-alameda-county","tag-albany","tag-bay-area","tag-bay-area-travel","tag-california","tag-central-contra-costa","tag-community-sports","tag-contra-costa-county","tag-east-bay","tag-east-contra-costa","tag-latest-headlines","tag-lifestyle","tag-livermore","tag-local-news","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-outdoors","tag-peninsula","tag-photos-and-videos","tag-pleasant-hill","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-san-mateo","tag-san-mateo-county","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-sports","tag-things-to-do","tag-tri-valley","tag-west-contra-costa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}