Hamptons New Year's Day party: Diving in to 2024 with an icy polar bear plunge

With bare feet and rosy cheeks, a group of girls danced in the sand, shrieking and running in place, doing jumping jacks — anything to keep warm while preparing to dip into the ocean at Main Beach in East Hampton on New Year’s Day.

“I just try not to think,” said Lola DeCarlo Cooper, 11, offering tips to first-timer Maya Quiroz Kane, 12, who took the plunge alongside Sophia Guidi, also 11.

The girls were among nearly 500 people who kicked off 2024 with a dose of bravery for the annual polar plunge hosted by East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue Squad and the YMCA East Hampton Hurricanes swim club Monday afternoon.

What began as a cloudy, chilly morning turned into a surprisingly pleasant day for a swim as the sun broke through the clouds. Several swimmers remarked the water was “actually not that bad,” at a balmy 48 degrees, warmer than the air temperature of 41.

The plunge’s $40 entry fee benefits the East Hampton Food Pantry, which served more than 30,000 people in 2023, according to chairperson Vicki Littman.

“This is something we rely on every year to help us get through those cold winter months,” Littman said, estimating that Monday’s event would raise more than $20,000 for the pantry.

Littman said the pantry has seen increased demand in services across the spectrum, from people who work seasonal jobs to seniors living on fixed incomes.

“A lot of people see the beautiful, rich area we live in,” she said. “But there’s definitely hunger in the Hamptons.”

The annual polar plunge began as a dare among the swim team and has grown to a well-attended community tradition, drawing  swimmers from 9 to nearly 90 years old.

Wearing a tall hat with stars and stripes and wielding a blue plunger, John Ryan Sr. of East Hampton declared himself "head plunger." Ryan, 88, a founding member of the East Hampton Hurricanes swim team and East Hampton Ocean Rescue, Hampton Lifeguard Association, has helped organize the event since its inception more than two decades ago.

“This is a way to open the new year with a great start,” he said. “We will all get wet, and be baptized and have a good time.”

A crew of volunteers prepared warm treats for those who took the plunge, from coffee and hot cocoa to chili and clam chowder. The food pantry also organized a costume contest, won this year by a pair of women dressed as an elm tree.

Novella Dunham, 9, of East Hampton officially became a three-time polar plunger, joining her teammates on the Hurricanes for the annual tradition.

She enjoys the unique nature of the event.

“I normally don't get to go in the cold a lot,” Novella said. “And it’s the beach! Who doesn’t like the beach?”

For others, like 68-year-old Roseanne Alletto of Springs, a New Year’s beach day was a milestone to check off.

“Bucket list,” she said with a smile.

Alletto came out to support the food pantry, which she bakes bread for twice a month as a volunteer with nonprofit Slow Food East End.

She was joined by Roey Ficaro, 74, of Springs, keeping warm in a long brown mink coat, an avid cold swimmer. “You feel so exhilarated afterward, and it takes away any low mood," she said.

Ficaro offered this advice to first-timers, applicable to polar plunges and other life situations: “Don’t overthink it."