Bold enough? Polar and pelican plunges planned New Year’s Day on Hilton Head, Hunting Island
Ring in 2024 with a jolt by jumping into the chilly Atlantic Ocean at Hilton Head or Hunting islands, where annual plunges are planned on New Year’s Day.
The Pelican Plunge at Hunting Island east of Beaufort is 1 p.m. but its best to arrive by noon at the Lighthouse Complex and the costume parade starts at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $5 for kids and $10 for adults. Friends of Hunting Island, the not-for-profit that organizes the rush to the sea, uses those funds for projects that help Hunting Island State Park. Get your tickets online until 9 a.m. Monday otherwise buy them at the beach.
The Polar Plunge at Coligny Beach on Hilton Head is at 11 a.m. but the festivities get started at 10 a.m. Don’t be late, organizers advise, or you’ll miss 500 people running into the ocean at the same time. The costume competition starts at 10:30 a.m. No registration is required, and it’s free, but donations will be accepted for the Charli’s Critters Naturalist Education Fund through the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry in honor of Charli Bobinchuck, an 11-year-old girl who was killed crossing U.S. 278 in 2018.
Hundreds of people are expected at both ocean plunges but it’s not for the faint of heart. Water temperatures will be in the 50s — on Friday, the water temperature was 54 degrees at Hunting Island and 57 at Coligny Beach.
Be prepared.
Fifty-five degree water may not sound very cold, but when your body hits cold water it can leave you gasping and “cold shock” can cause dramatic changes in breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, the National Weather Service says.
The New Year’s Day forecast calls for a high of 62 degrees with a 20% chance of showers after 1 p.m.
For more information
Friend of hunting island.org/pelican and Coligny.
This story was originally published December 29, 2023 at 11:13 AM.
