The 2007 New Jersey Polar Bear Plunge was held on Saturday, February 24th on the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

Donation Total: $450

Recap

This year there were an estimated 8,000 spectators to watch the 3,000 plungers jump into the cold ocean waters. The event raised an estimated $650,000.

The air temperature was 35 degrees with a wind chill of 15 degrees. The ocean temperature was 33 degrees! In the days leading up to the plunge, I checked the weather forecast many, many times. It was colder than I had hoped, but it wasn't as cold as last year's 9 degree wind chill.

When I got to the plunge, I was a little worried because it was so cold. My friend, Anthony, came to watch and he told me a couple of times beforehand that there was still time to back out. I knew that I was going through with it. I wasn't sure how cold it would be. I positioned myself towards the front and I was one of the first hundred people in the water. I ran in up to my knees just as a wave came crashing in. I dove under the wave, got up and staggered back out. At that point there were more people going in than leaving. I found my friend Anthony who had my bag with my change of clothes. Afterwards, we spent a couple of hours in the Aztec Bar eating hot dogs and drinking beer with several hundred other revelers.

Special thanks to the EDA and the Ewing Public Library. With your generous donations, I raised $450 dollars for the New Jersey Special Olympics. My three year total is $1375.