Polar bear swim going strong -- and frigid

UPI -

A record 1,500 swimmers dashed into the 35-degree surf at New York's Coney Island for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim, organizers said.

"It was like 10,000 knives stabbing you at once," Tim Henshall, 50, an Army reservist from Blairstown, N.J., told the New York Daily News.

Just returned from Afghanistan, Henshall made his second New Year's plunge in only a Speedo and dog tags. "It's a great way to remind you you're alive," he said.

The swimmers' attire ranged from bikinis to mermaid costumes and scuba gear.

The event was also a fundraiser for Camp Sunshine for seriously ill children.

Ruby's Bar and Grill defiantly opened for the occasion, serving hot chocolate and coffee, but no alcohol. The bar's owners are fighting their eviction by a developer.

"I'm getting older, so this is one of the last things I can do that pushes me to the edge," said Jim Carbonaro, 55, of Staten Island. "And hey, it's a heck of a lot safer than skydiving. It's viciously invigorating."

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