East Coast takes the plunge in polar bear swims
An octogenarian, with the words “Happy 2017” scrawled across his body in permanent marker, took the inaugural leap into the Atlantic Ocean in one of the first polar bear swims of the year.
Eighty-two-year-old Arnie Ross, clad in coral swim trunks, was the first of more than 250 people to jump off the wharf in Herring Cove, N.S., on Sunday.
Organizers said it was the best turn-out since the first polar bear swim in Herring Cove in 1994.
Ross has there almost since the beginning — it was his 21st year participating in the New Year’s Day tradition, and he doesn’t plan on quitting anytime soon.