Polar bear swim will be a cold one as temperature dips

It will be a very frigid dip for those brave enough to plunge into Charlottetown Harbour on New Year’s Day.

The annual Charlottetown polar bear swim is scheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m. at the foot of Pownal Street.

And it will be a nippy day. Environment Canada is forecasting a high of –16 C for Queens County, with wind chill making it feel like –27 C.

It’s so cold that polar bear swim organizer Jason Lee was out Monday breaking a hole in the ice.

“The ice is soft right now, but at –17 C Wednesday it should be firm, and we need a hole to get into,” Lee said.

Lee reminds people that they swim at their own risk and it is an unofficial event.