SEA ISLE CITY – With no Polar Bear Plunge planned this year, rumors are circulating that some may continue the President’s Day weekend tradition in the back bay, near a local watering hole owned by the man credited with the event’s long-running success.
Jimmy Bennett, the owner of the Oar House Pub in Sea Isle, was one of the Plunge’s main organizers and the bar he owned for years, LaCosta, at the corner of JFK Boulevard and Landis Avenue, was the official host of the pre and post-plunge party.
And it was quite a party. Bennett once described the event as “Mardi Gras in Sea Isle City.” It featured crowds of people in costumes, huge parking lot tents with live bands, and a significant uptick for all kinds of local businesses in an otherwise dead time of year. Many places opened their doors for the first time in months because of the crowds the event drew.
Some residents from houses that share the lagoon the Oar House sits on, who were already upset with Bennett’s bar for the noise disturbance they said it caused, expressed concern at a Feb. 8 City Council meeting about the rumors they had heard of a bayside plunge this year, Sea Isle News reported.
Neighbors said they feared protestors would use their private bay access for the impromptu-plunge and feared how it could turn out in the deep, cold water, according to Sea Isle News.
Capt. Anthony Garreffi, the officer in charge of Sea Isle’s police department, reportedly said he hadn’t heard the rumors, but that police would be ready to respond if anyone trespassed to jump into the bay.
Last year’s plunge was cancelled due to the pandemic and a new city policy refusing the use of city property for privately operated events made it impossible to happen in its usual form this year. The city says events including the plunge put too much strain on city resources and open it up to potential litigation.
Garreffi reportedly said jumping into the ocean is not illegal in the winter and police and lifeguard patrols would be on duty for whatever happens. City lawyer Paul Baldini added that the city has not received any requests for a jump into the bay, according to Sea Isle News’ report.
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