Merry Christmas! I hope your Christmas was a good one, that all your family and friends are well and that the coming year brings you happiness, health and prosperity. If you spend time on or around the water, be safe.

My friend Al Johnson, recreational boating safety specialist at the First Coast Guard District in Boston, dropped me a line the other day to pass along some holiday hints to the dozen or so of you who read this column. Johnson is sort of the Grim Reaper of boating mishap numbers. He can tell you how many accidents and fatalities there have been on our waters at the blink of an eye – sometimes even without blinking …

When it comes to grim statistics, he’s all business. Here’s the latest for 2004 from his office, which covers the New England waters: 36 recreational boating and paddling deaths involving 15 motorboats, eight canoes, five kayaks, four rowboats, two sailboats, one personal watercraft and one catamaran.

Included in those numbers are fatalities in Maine where we had four recreational boating fatalities, Johnson said. On April 30 a man capsized his 12-foot motorboat in Kittery. On May 25 a canoeist capsized in Millinocket Lake. On July 2 a man fell overboard in the Presumpscot River in Gorham, and on Aug. 30 a man capsized his rowboat in Billings Cove in Stonington. None of the men wore a personal flotation device. Maine averages eight recreational boating deaths a year, Johnson said.

While recreational boating is pretty much wrapped up for the season, there are many outdoors types who will continue to use the cold ocean waters as well as the frozen surfaces of our lakes for work and fun this winter. Johnson’s advice: “Boaters, paddlers and others venturing out on the water or ice at this time of year should have a definite plan of action for sudden cold water immersion … For every degree temperatures fall, the rate of survival also diminishes. From December to May, water temperatures in New England are usually between 30 and 45 degrees. Preparedness for cold-water immersion or boat malfunctions can be crucial for survival.”

If you caught my recent column on hypothermia you know how quickly cold water can render you useless to the point of not being able to rescue yourself.

In the interest of trying to pass along useful information, then, here’s list from the U.S. Coast Guard, a top 10 list of items, if you will, that you should have if you’re planning an outing near the ocean:

. Coast Guard approved life jacket;

. Signaling kit (mirror, flares, whistle, lights, Eco-Horn with pump);

. Nautical charts;

. VHF radio;

. Dry/wet suit;

. Neoprene gloves ;

. Compass/GPS system;

. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB);

. Life raft;

. First aid kit.

I ask you, what better ways can you think of to spend the wad of cash and gift certificates you raked in for Christmas?

Now, having said that about cold water safety, let me call your attention to an event in Eastport later in January. If you saw John Holyoke’s column earlier this week, you already know what’s coming.

I talking about the fifth annual Polar Bear Dip on Jan. 28, to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor. Again this year the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay will be alive (for a few seconds) with the screeching of enthusiastic (?) bathers intent on trying to walk on water.

Yes, the 34-degree waters are beckoning again, and a few of us here at 491 Main St., will be testing our mettle (or sanity) and taking the plunge. It’s all for a great cause.

Some 200 folks (students and faculty) at Washington County Community College have been hard at it planning the fifth episode with the ambitious goal of raising $39,000. They raised the bar $5,000 from last year’s dip tally so it would bring the five-year total to $100,000.

Around 200 of us took the chilly dip last January in 14- degree temperatures made even colder by a brisk northwest wind – talk about evaporative cooling! Each year more people join in the fun and each year the money raised has increased. In 2001 a small group of students raised $1,600 or so. The amount grew in 2002 to $6,000. Then it jumped to $20,000 in 2003 and last January it was $34,000.

Tess Ftorek, the college’s former student support councilor and student senate advisor, hooked me into my first dip two years ago. And while she’s got a different assignment now, she’s still in the forefront of trying to attract neophytes to share in the fun with those of us who have had more experience. She’s given a lioness’s share of coordinating this year’s dip to Desiree Smith (desiree.smith@wccc.me.edu) who would love to hear from you saying you’ll be there with bells on and a large check in hand. Or if you wish to wimp out, feel free to funnel your generosity through Holyoke or me. We’ll see to it your generosity goes to support “the house that love built” here in Bangor. College Roxanne Moore Saucier, editor of The Weekly, has generously contributed to kick this effort into gear.

Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide provide a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. “The Ronald McDonald House provides a comfortable, supportive alternative for these families. It serves as a temporary residence near the medical facility where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations. In return, families are asked to make a donation ranging from $5 to $20 per day; if that isn’t possible, their stay is free,” the organization says.

According to their Web site, “The first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia in 1974. By 1979, 10 more Houses had opened. By 1984, McDonald’s restaurants and local communities founded 60 more Houses; then 53 more opened by 1989. Today, there are nearly 240 Ronald McDonald Houses in 25 countries around the world.”

Think about the amount of support that surfaces for this event from a small community in Washington County, and you’ll be surprised. Several days after last January’s event, Ftorek was still on an emotional high. “I am simply overwhelmed and amazed at what people will do and what people will give from their hearts to help others,” she told me.

Not only does the college turn out more than 50 percent of its staff and students, the Passamaquoddy Tribe turns out a large contingent as well – the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Pleasant Point Police Department, Sipayik Ambulance Service, Pleasant Point Health Center and the Tribal Government – that supplies critical support services for the dip.

“The Polar Bear Dip would not happen without the support of our family and friends at Pleasant Point,” Ftorek told me last January.

I guess that’s why I let her talk me into taking the plunge and why I returned last year with Holyoke in tow. Our Calais reporter, Diana Graettinger, joined us, and this year we may even have a couple of other NEWS employees along for the adventure. We’re doing it for the adventure but we’re also doing it to help raise money for this worthy cause – so pony up! We want to help push the total of donations raised past the $100,000 five-year goal.

Come to the Pleasant Point Pier, just off Route 190 (you can’t miss it, there’ll be hundreds of cars and all kinds of folks dressed up in Mexican garb) at noon on Jan. 28. I’d advise you to get there early to be sure to get a parking space. If you plan to dip, get a pledge card from Desiree soon (you can call her at 454-1094) and bring your warm clothes. There’ll be music and food vendors so why not make it THE social event of January? We can stand around the bonfire and thaw out afterward!

If you can’t make it on Jan. 28 stop by the Bangor Mall on Jan. 8 and say hello to WCCC students who will be drumming up support for the event and selling T-shirts to raise money for the effort. The colorful red T-shirts feature a polar bear celebrating in the Cinqo de Mayo theme. The design was done by WCCC graduate Karen Munday of Wharf Rats in Eastport. Cinco De Mayo or the Fifth of May, commemorates the defeat of the French army by the Mexicans at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862.

I heard from my friends at Northern Outdoors that they have purchased 29 acres of land and 10 deluxe Wyman Lake cabins from New England Outdoor Center owner Matthew Polstein. Under a lease agreement, NEOC will continue to operate its whitewater rafting and snowmobiling business in the Kennebec Valley from this location which will be operated by Northern Outdoors under the name The Lakeside Resort Center.

Polstein said his decision to divest himself of the Caratunk property and work with Northern Outdoors “is based in part on our recognition of their reputation for running first-class operations in the region and a desire to ensure our future guests recreating in the Kennebec River valley receive continued access to a high-quality resort experience.”

The sale does not include the Sterling Inn or NEOC’s rafting and snowmobile business at the Forks, both of which will continue to be operated by NEOC.

To learn more about Northern Outdoors, check out their Web site at www.northernoutdoors.com.

A few weeks ago I told you about the Conovers anniversary snowshoe trek from Greenville to Allagash. If you’re interested in that sort of adventure and would like to see a slide-show presentation on another of this couple’s adventures, head over to the Natural Resource Education Center, Depot Street, Greenville, at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6. The Conovers, Garrett and Alexandra, will present “Ungava Winter – Snowshoeing the Long View.”

The Conovers and a group of friends set off in mid-February of 2003 to travel along the ice-clad De Pas and George Rivers in northern Quebec, from just north of Schefferville to Ungava Bay.

“The De Pas and George Rivers have long cast a siren spell upon northern canoeists. This same spell captured the imaginations of a merry band of snowshoers who eagerly succumbed to the lure of a long winter trail,” Garrett Conover said in a press release from the Natural Resource Center.

“By mid-April they had walked 385 miles pulling long Cree toboggans laden with gear and supplies, camping in wall tents each night. The expedition started on a small headwater stream and watched the river grow to stupendous proportions as it flows through range after range of spectacular hills. Their snowshoes and toboggans stitched a line of tracks following the ever-thinning fringe of trees that flank the river far into the barrens. The fabulous joyful passage through a spectacular region during its least traveled season is documented with beautiful photography and vivid narration” the press release said.

There is no charge for the program and donations to the Natural Resource Education Center are welcomed. For more information or directions contact Linda Koski at 695-3668.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.