COA students take annual plunge Dip in Atlantic marks rite of passage for some

BAR HARBOR – The air at the College of the Atlantic dock was filled Friday afternoon with screams, shouts and splashes of icy water as more than 60 people plunged into the ocean for the college’s 15th annual swim to Bar Island.

Some shivering swimmers, though, didn’t make it quite as far as that.

Mary McCall, a first-year student from Houston, Texas, had the distinction of being the first one back to the dock after just a few minutes in the 58-degree Fahrenheit water.

“Oh my gosh, I’m not in Kansas anymore,” McCall said through giggles and chattering teeth. “I’ve never seen snow or anything, and I literally can’t feel my legs.”

McCall lay bundled in a towel on the wooden dock, a styrofoam cup of hot chocolate within reach of her fingers. Despite the failed first attempt to reach Bar Island about a third of a mile away, McCall said she was not giving up yet.

“Oh yeah, I’m going to try it again,” she said. “I’m going to do it every year until I make it.”

The event, which started 15 years ago with five swimmers, has evolved into a combination of personal challenge, back-to-school rite of passage and out-and-out party. This year, students, faculty members and even a trustee dived, belly-flopped and squealed their way off the dock and into the Atlantic.

The dress code may have been varied – swimmers were clad in bikinis, Speedos, surf trunks, wet suits, scuba gear, woolen caps, a black negligee and even the altogether, but the atmosphere was a pure good time, though some swimmers struggled with cold feet before taking the plunge.

“I’m just scared, because I don’t handle cold water, and I’m not a very good swimmer,” Heather Nazarewicz of Akron, Ohio, said. “I want to do it just to prove to myself that I can.”

The bright afternoon sun vanished behind clouds just as the group jumped into the water. The swimmers, wet heads bobbing like seals, were tailed by several inflatable rescue boats and the college’s 35-foot motorized vessel. The boats soon were busy as swimmers stuck chilly hands out of the water to hitch a ride back to the mainland.

“We’ll pick up probably half of them,” said Andrew Peterson, COA marine superintendent.

Emma Rearick of Sturbridge, Mass., was a second-year veteran of the swim.

“It’s such a great feeling to finish,” she said before the event. “It’s cold, very cold. … Once you get out it’s wonderful.”

College President Steve Katona benevolently watched the group from the dock and predicted who would be first to return.

“It just started out as fun and just turned into a ritual,” he said. “It turns out it is a good thing to do because it does boost your confidence.”

Swimmer Jessica Woodbury was one of the first to make it over and back, even finding the time on her swim to accessorize with a long piece of kelp that she stuck into the back of her bathing suit.

“It was great,” she said, smiling. “I picked up a tail along the way and it’s just a beautiful day.”