Standing on the edge, I wasn’t at all worried. Seeing people go before me and coming back relatively unscathed, it was calming knowing that we wouldn’t be completely frozen when we got out. Then, the countdown began – 3… 2… 1… and before I knew it, I had dove into the water – arms out in front of me with my head following closely after. The impact of the water was a little bit of a shock, but suddenly, all the cheering and clapping vanished. It was silent, and all I could hear were the bubbles I had created from jumping in. I opened my eyes and all I could see was a vast darkness below me. Above me, the glow of a cloudy Antarctic day beckoned. At least there wouldn’t be any confusion as to which way to swim, right? I swam back up to the surface, and it was only then that I felt how cold the water was. The whole thing probably took only a few seconds, but the memory of this experience will last me a lifetime.

And into the freezing waters we go… 

Actual Polar Plunge images courtesy of the kind folks at 2041.com.

The text in this post was taken from an original journal entry made during the International Antarctic Expedition 2013, written on March 8, 2013 at Portal Point, Charlotte Bay.