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BEAR SWIM 2007 |
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The Chosen Frozen "Many were called (and quickly declined), but few were frozen" at this year's 9th Annual Lake Tahoe Polar Bear Swim! And of course the excuses were high once again: "Can't you change the date to sometime in July?" We didn't quite get the numbers we were expecting, but I will list those that were privileged to participate in this years event starting with our first timers (blueies): Collin Tuttle, Josh Briggs (recruited by Collin Tuttle), and Gary Fink (one of those that was "going" to go last year, but glad he made it this year). We also had a few veterans this year, starting with CJ Lacy (returning for his 3rd year), Todd Tuttle (returning for his 2nd year),myself (returning for the 9th year), and Calvin & Devon Kelly (returning for the 4th year - who continued to take several cold showers throughout the year preparing for this event). We also had several spectators (photographers) this year, including Colleen Tuttle with their 2 dogs; Gary Finks' 3 daughters - Ashleigh, Courtnee, Chellcee; Collin Tuttle's other, not so brave friends - Joey Lyons, Isaac Ducharm; a kayaker, a few fishermen, several vacationers, and 3 unexpected college kids who I will mention later. Just as I stated last year, we decided to do the Polar Bear Swim the same day the rest of the world does it, which is New Years Day. So instead of waiting for the perfect weather (snowing, raining, windy, etc), we stuck to the date. Unfortunately Mother Nature was not on our side since we did not have the same GREAT weather that we had last year (I doubt it will ever be as good as last year), but there was still snow on the beach, so that was a good sign! How cold was the water? * The water temperature was a little warmer than last year (but still below average at this time of year) at 39.6 degrees F.
How cold was it outside? * In the sun it was about 40 degrees F, but with the wind and shade it would go down to about 35 degrees F.
Once again we chose the Sand Harbor Boat Docks this year since the bathrooms on the beach was open and they had the heat and lights both turned on. So after much stalling and organizing of the cameras, we finally started the death count of 3...2................1, followed by the annual scream as the participants splashed into the frigid ice water and tried to catch their breaths.
Was anyone crazy enough to beat polar bear Kelly for a FREE Awful, Awful Hamburger? Well, as most ran out of the water faster than they ran in, there were still 3 brave souls going for the record breaking time (CJ, Gary, and myself), when all of a sudden Devon decided he was going to take the plunge (getting into the water past his knees), followed by a wild yell from Calvin as he ran past Devon and dove into the water (his first full Polar Bear dip). After that, Gary decided he had enough (at exactly 2 minutes) and CJ wanted to make it to at least 8 minutes, then he toughened it out to 10 minutes 30 seconds , killing the previous "youth" record of 55 seconds! Then after several more minutes the unexpected college kids decided to take a quick dip for a picture, thus technically bringing our total number to 10 swimmers this year! So, for the sensation of not being able to feel your clothing, or to take on this years challenge of 30 minutes, join "The Chosen Frozen" next year on New Years Day as we break the ice and take the 10th annual Lake Tahoe Polar Bear plunge! The Polar Bear recruiter, P.S. Yes Russ Fonoimoana (and Toa), I recorded your commitment to join us next year!
P.S.S. So what is possible? Upon searching for this answer I came across this table:
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