Published: January 01, 2010 02:20 pm      

Tybee swimmers take New Year’s plunge

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Hundreds of swimmers turned out for what’s become one of Georgia’s chillier New Year’s Day celebrations — a quick dip in the teeth-chattering waters off the beach.

Everybody got wet at Friday’s Polar Bear Plunge as steady rains drenched swimmers and spectators alike. Temperatures were in the mid-40s as participants rushed into the surf around noon.

The island New Year’s event started in 2000 with just a few Tybee residents rushing into the ocean, where water temperatures typically hover in the 50s off the Georgia coast.

The event has grown in the past decade with hundreds now taking the plunge as large crowds watch.