This article was submitted by Jill Hartmann On Jan. 1, for the past seven years, the Swampscott Yacht Club has encouraged people to start the New Year in an invigorating and charitable way by taking the Polar Bear Plunge. This year again, hundreds of brave souls will plunge into the frigid waters off Fisherman’s Beach for a good cause.  This year the plunge will benefit the family of Dave Whelan, a lifelong Swampscott resident who served our town, as both Town Treasurer and School Committee Chairman. He recently lost his battle with cancer. Dave grew up in Swampscott and is a 1975 graduate …

  It really was a beach day — Jan. 1, 2012. A familiar refrain at Fisherman's Beach on Sunday was: This is too easy. Many a January morning dishes out little numbers, chilly degrees well below freezing. As luck would have it, this New Year's Day served up temperatures well above freezing and warmer than last year's Polar Plunge. A pleasant sunny day. Dogs chased sticks into the water. And bathers chased themselves into the water. Some took double and triple dips. There were sun glasses, bathing suits, and lots of pasty white skin. But few goosebumps.

  Hundreds of plungers submerged themselves in 40-degree sea water Sunday raising thousands for the Swampscott Education Foundation. As usual, Greg "Polar Bear" Fitzgerald enjoyed his ocean plunge. "I love this," he said, minutes after returning to land. "I get fatter, hairier and heavier every year — so it gets easier." Fortunately, there were no seals on the beach. But there were plenty of polar bears, about the same or more as last year during the plunge. The bear who perhaps migrated the farthest for this rite of winter was Evert Kolthof. He came from Valthermond, Holland, about two hours…

  A few hundred people dashed into the 40-degree water at Fisherman's Beach late Sunday morning. The sun was shining and temperatures hovered around the mid-40s for the Swampscott Yacht Club-sponsored event. It was an all-ages plunge with grandparents, parents and at least one 3-year-old splashing into Swampscott Harbor and raising money for the Swampscott Education Foundation. Here are your shots and videos and your first looks at Polar Plunge 2012. Thank you Bob Powell and Ed Mulvey for your video and pics. Happy New Year.

  Polar plungers might linger in the harbor a second longer come Sunday. The Plunge Day high temperature is expected to be 51. That's 16 degrees warmer than the typical January day's high temperature. The water is warmer this year, too. The latest ocean temperature for Boston registered almost 44 degrees, or about 4 degrees warmer than the 40 degrees typical for Boston waters in January. On New Year’s Day, a human wave will converge on the surf at the Swampscott Yacht Club's 6th Annual SYC Polar Bear Plunge.  The last five years the plunge has raised more than $50,000 for local charities. …

Some came to plunge, some to watch. They made for a crowded beach at the fifth annual Polar Plunge. Here are some faces and scenes.