BOSTON (WHDH) - More than 150 people gathered in South Boston on Sunday to plunge into icy cold water for the Harpoon Shamrock Splash.
“Every year, it’s just colder and colder,” Donnie Todd, one participant, said. “Very refreshing, though, wakes you right up on a Sunday morning.”
The temperature outside was in the low 30s and some participants were barefoot in the snow showing off their shamrock costumes for the event, which supports Save the Harbor/Save the Bay.
“Thirty years ago, these beaches, no one would swim in them and today, they are some of the cleanest urban beaches in the country,” said Save the Harbor President Tani Marinovich. “It’s amazing the community that supports this event and supports our beaches.”
The weather did not stop volunteers from taking the plunge for a cause they believe in.
“I have been watching the weather for the last week,” Joseph Schofield said. “We were kind of preparing for it.”
Katie Chance said, “Last year, we were spoiled. We came down, it was sunny, it was warm. This year, we had trouble getting down. A lot of snow.”
While some are new to the event, it has become a tradition for many others who, no matter how cold, will keep coming back.
Organizers say Sunday’s event brought in more than $50,000.
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