Wetsuits are mandatory for the Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day in Santa Monica.
Wetsuits in SoCal? That water can’t be any colder than fifty-five! I bet it’s even warmer than the Pacific Northwest in summer – and I swim here at home in July in a bikini! And I’m considered to be a wuss by real Polar Bear standards: in Victoria, the tradition is to jump in a near-freezing local lake on January 1st, in regular swimsuits.
Everything’s relative.
Jillian's Blog 