Plunging Into the New Year

Jan 7, 2022 | Features

Photos by Jim Ritch –

The Felkers.

Temperatures in the 60s made for a moderately comfortable First Day in the Bay plunge at Cape Charles Saturday. Members of the Vacation Homeowners Group of Cape Charles planned the event, which raised funds for Citizens for Central Park. The third-year event filled a section of Cape Charles Town Beach. More than 200 people preregistered for the event, about double the number of last year’s participants, said event originator Todd Curran.

: Todd Curran, right, originator of what is now the First Day in the Bay event, speaks to participants before the plunge.

: Mimosas and bloody marys add to the fundraising total for Citizens for Central Park. Mike Pickles, of Cape Charles and Kent Island, Md., left, receives a drink from volunteers Lindsay Mulhern, of Cape Charles and Princeton, N.J., and Danielle Carrier, of Cape Charles and Prince George, Va.

: Georgia Nice, 13, second from left, leads the charge out of the water. From left are Hazel Nice, Georgia, Hennessee Jarvis, and Charleston Ashman, all of Powhatan, Va.

: Friends from around Northampton County prepare to swim and cheer. Kneeling in first row are, from left, Ryan Peake, of Cape Charles; Chelsea Mapp, of Exmore; and Chaundra Thorp, of Belle Haven. Standing are Pedro Gonzalez, of Exmore; Joe Drake, of Cape Charles; Mandy Frey, of Machipongo; Chris Mapp, of Exmore; and Ana Zapata, of Belle Haven. The group met through Randi Wingate, of Willis Wharf.

: Leeann Garvey, left, of Cape Charles and Swedesboro, NJ, shows off her New Year’s spirit with friend Maria Thackson, of Waterford, NJ.

: Sade Adegoroye, left, and his wife, Seyi, of Fairfax, Va., arrive prepared to photograph the event.

: Even 4-year-old Charlotte Felker, clutching her mother, Lindsay, took the plunge. Her brother, Elliott, 7, stands, while dad, Charles, towers above them all. The Felkers own a home in Cape Charles and are normally winter residents of Fayetteville, N.C.

: Board members of the Vacation Homeowners Group of Cape Charles show off one of the coolers they had printed with a newly designed event logo. From left are Jordan and Phillip Dail, of Machipongo; Sarah Fullam, of Cape Charles; and Ahren and Ryan Foster, of Richmond.

: Luna Mandaro, 3, daughter of Frank and Maria Mandaro, of Exmore, wearing winter cap at center, runs out of the water.

: Todd Curran, originator of the Cape Charles plunge, left, and his wife, Erica, smile amid the large number of participants the event attracted after just three years.