The third annual North Fork Polar Bears Polar Plunge filled Veterans Beach in Mattituck Sunday for the coldest plunge on record. With 32-degree water and air temps not much higher, hundreds of participants, many donning official North Fork Polar Bears hats, braved the — literal — icy Peconic Bay. Seriously, as the Islander Food Truck and Bunji Box Sauna were setting up, members of the Mattituck Fire Department were breaking up ice that had formed along the shore.
Proceeds from the charity plunge will support both CAST — the Center for Advocacy, Support & Transformation — and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program’s ‘Back to the Bays‘ initiative.
“We had a great turnout. It was such a joyful event,” said CAST interim executive director Erica Steindl. “We haven’t heard anything negative. This facility was amazing; it’s our first time here.”
Photos by Daniel Franc