MANASQUAN — When polar bear plungers sign on to take a dip in the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of winter, they take a gamble on the weather.
With the wind chill making it feel like 14 degrees on the beach on Saturday and the ocean temperature a shockingly cold 42 degrees, the brave souls who participated in Saturday’s Valentine Plunge in Manasquan gambled and lost.
But the Joan Dancy and PALS Foundation that works on behalf of people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease came out the winner.
In its 11th year now raising money for the fight against Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the event drew hundreds of intrepid plungers to the beach in a show of support for those battling the so-far incurable degenerative neurological disease.
“Everybody was ready to go,” said plunger Frank Desimini of Waldwick. “They were freezin’ for a reason.”
Like others who took the plunge, Desimini said that as cold as Saturday was, it wasn’t nearly as frigid as last year’s event, when the air temperature was below zero and the water temperature didn’t feel much warmer.
That year, plungers were urged not to go in the water, but hardly anyone heeded that advice, he said.
It’s going to be 20 degrees in N.J. and these people are going swimming
“If people with ALS wake up every day in pain, we can deal with 15 minutes of pain,” said Desimini, who’s attended all 11 Valentine Plunges.
Among the more than 600 kind-hearted masochists was Clancy’s Crew, a group of friends, relatives, colleagues and supporters of Michael Clancy, a 39-year-old lieutenant with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office who was diagnosed in August with the disease.
Clancy, a former Ocean Township police detective, didn’t take the plunge but witnessed the crazy crew that included 150 of his family, friends, members of the prosecutor’s office and members of the Ocean Township, Wall, Eatontown, Belmar and Spring Lake police departments – among others – take a dive for him.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni, who was among those plunging for Clancy, described his office as a family whose members fight alongside those going through a struggle.
“Clancy is always there for everyone else and now we are here for him and for whatever he needs. That’s exactly what we did today and the cold temperatures and frigid water were not going to stop us,” he said. “We were a family today. We are a family every single day. Today on that beach, we were Clancy’s Crew. We love Clancy and like any family member we will always be there for him.”
Donning dark green sweatshirts bearing the number of the prosecutor’s office (89) and his badge number (179), the crew raised $72,356 for the foundation.
“It is as cold as you’d think it is,” said Dan Jordan of Point Pleasant Borough, who with six other people made up the team “Viking March to the Sea.”
Having recently had ankle surgery, Jordan couldn’t take the plunge this year. He thought at first that he wouldn’t mind staying on shore, but when he watched the others dashing to the ocean, he wished he could have joined them.
“I was bummed,” he said. “It sounds silly, but it’s a lot of fun.”
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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