The brave (and maybe crazy) welcome in 2018 at the Polar Bear Plunge

NORTH BEACH, Md. — Despite bitter cold, some people in our area welcomed the new year by peeling off most of their clothes and dunking themselves in the Chesapeake Bay.

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The annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge in this Southern Maryland town drew brave and crazy plungers, as well as a crowd of bundled-up spectators.

Before the big event, there was ice on the beach where the water met the sand, and town leaders announced that the water temperature was a frigid 23 degrees. The air temperature was also in the 20s.

But after a 15-second countdown, dozens of people — most of them in swimsuits — ran into the water. Some took a few steps in and got right out, while others dove under the water and got completely wet.