If you’re counting on a bracing New Year’s Day swim to clear the cobwebs from indulgences the night before, you might want to make a new plan.
The annual Penguin Plunge from the boat ramp at Port Moody’s Rocky Point Park has been cancelled because of ongoing public health orders to limit transmission of COVID-19.
Organizer Nicki Forster said the writing had been on the wall for some time. Still, she held off pulling the plug as long as she could.
“The Plunge is a great community event,” Forster said in a statement. “I will miss seeing everyone Jan. 1st.”
The New Year’s Day event, that challenges hardy swimmers to take a dip in the chilled waters of Burrard Inlet, is a major fundraiser for programs at Old Orchard Hall in the city’s Pleasantside neighbourhood.
Last January’s Plunge, held in sunshine and mild temperatures, was the biggest ever. It attracted more than 350 registered swimmers plus several dozen more unofficial participants.
Forster said the cancellation of the 2021 Plunge isn’t the first. In 2015, a fuel spill from a boat that ran aground at the concrete ramp that leads into the water forced the city to call off the event with less than 24 hour's notice.
