Some do it for the adrenaline rush, while others aren’t sure why they do it.
“I don’t know. I think I’ve kind of lost my mind maybe,” Garrett Clark chuckled on a chilly Monday morning in Jacksonville Beach. “I’m not really quite sure.”
Nonetheless, the “polar plunge” has become an annual Jacksonville Beach tradition, as hundreds took to the water Monday morning, diving into 60-degree water.
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Joel Strickland, the owner of the Time Madness Fitness Club and one of the people who helped organize this year’s event, told Action News Jax Monday morning that he’s never seen the event draw crowds quite like this year.
“I’ve been here many years before, and there’s always been hundreds of folks. But, I just never expected to see, you know, this number of folks show up this year,” said Strickland in amazement.
As a cherished beach town tradition, those who take the plunge will tell you that it’s just something you have to experience in Jacksonville Beach.
“I’m originally from Georgia. We do it there. I know they do in South Carolina. So, I think it’s just one of these traditions that if you live in a beach town, it’s just something you do,” said Clark.
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