Boxing Day promises to be sunny, with only a few clouds at the start of the day. The forecast predicts a temperature of three degrees.
This is important because the Niagara-on-the-Lake Penguin Dippers are returning to Balls Beach on Dec. 26 for their 49th annual dip into Lake Ontario. They don’t want a repeat of one year recalled by original penguin dipper Chris Bjorgan, when it was “minus 20 degrees and so cold your hair would freeze between the water and the trailer.”
Mary Ann Enns and her partner, Vince Mayne, are returning for their second year. Last year they decided to plunge into the cold water where Lake Ontario meets the Niagara River because, well, they were in their 70th year and it seemed like a good idea. This year they are challenging fellow members from the NOTL Pickleball Club to join them.
“The water was cold,” recalled Mayne. “Not as cold as I expected, though, and there weren't any waves.”
St. Davids residents Martin Lindqvist and his wife, Krystle Bernier, will be plunging for the third year in a row and will become official NOTL Penguins.
To achieve this honour, one must enter the lake three times each year, and dunk fully under the water each time, for three years. In between dunks participants are given time to warm up in a heated trailer provided by Design Electronics.
“We are committed,” said Lindqvist. “We will do our best to hit our goal” of raising $1,000 to donate to Red Roof Retreat.
Bjorgan said he will continue his practice of plunging into the cold water again this year, then pass the hat around to the crowd of family and friends standing on the shoreline to collect donations for Red Roof Retreat. This is a cause near and dear to Bjorgan’s heart as Red Roof provides important services for children, youth and young adults with special needs, including his nephew, Garrett Bjorgan.
The first of the three dips is planned for 1 p.m. on Boxing Day, Dec. 26, at Balls Beach.
Mayne suggests that first-timers “leave your paddle at home, wear shoes suitable for going into the water, and have a friend on the shoreline with a warm blanket. “
“Don’t overdress,” advised Enns, who remembers wearing boots that quickly became waterlogged last year. “Less is better than more.”
Can’t make it this year? Donate at https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/RedRoofRetreat/penguinswim.html
