Hundreds take plunge for kicks, charity

“Bikinis and Uggs — it was quite the sight,’’ the Johnson sisters’ mother, Gail, said.

Leading them in yesterday was the Johnson sisters’ grandfather, Tom Furey, 81, who quickly decided that one time in was not enough. As the three girls, ages 16, 14, and 13, stood drying off and warming up, they saw him gear up to go in again, and rushed to cast their towels aside as they, too, took a second dip.

“I could feel the goosebumps,’’ Meagan said.

Yesterday’s unseasonably warm weather, which reached 56 in Boston, was what many pointed to as the reason for a rise in participation this year.

“This is a gift,’’ said Kevin Conroy, part of a bagpipes and drums band that warmed up the crowd at the Curley Community Center.

Alicia Thoms, who lives in South Boston, said that after years of reading about the annual event, the abnormal balminess prompted her to make her first attempt.

What started out as a more modest tradition involving a few dozen members of the all-male L-Street Brownie club, taking on the just-above-freezing waters to ring in the New Year, has ballooned into a grand tradition as storied as the neighborhood’s parking space holders.

What makes it easier for the Southie locals to not feel too much resentment toward the out-of-towners for crashing their event, they say, is that it is couched in the newer tradition of making it an annual charity event. Thousands of dollars came in the form of pledges and raffle tickets to support cancer and scleroderma research and other worthy causes.

State Police assigned to the event said they had never seen so many people on previous New Year’s, estimating the crowd at just over 1,000.

And polar swims have gained popularity nationwide. Events have sprung up in various cold locales, many playing on the theme of making it a fund-raiser.

The South Shore Anchors rugby team did its own plunge in Hull yesterday to raise money for the local affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and various other charities have plans for similar events in the coming days.

“It’s doing something silly, but being able to do it for a great cause and to raise money and awareness,’’ said Brian Davey, a fullback on the rugby team. He said about 35 people went into the chilly waters, raising 50 percent more than their initial goal.

While most dip into the water quickly and then race back out, Randy Doiron and his former Salem State University swim teammates took a tad longer in South Boston. Wearing plastic Viking hats, they swam to a Boston Police Department boat offshore.

Doiron, 41, of Waltham, said police on board gave them a thumbs-up for touching the boat.

“There’s no hard part,’’ he said of the annual plunge. “If anything, your fear of going in is the hard part.’’

Jack Dever, president of the L-Street Brownies, with a thermometer hanging around his neck, said he had already been in three times before the 10 a.m. en masse plunge. He started as a child and goes in daily, he said. “It builds up your tolerance and has many medical benefits,’’ he said. “It really clears your mind.’’

He estimated that more than 700 people went into the water, breaking last year’s record, although an official count was not available. He said the water was about 34 degrees.

After signaling the start of the first wave of participants, Dever handed out business-card-size membership cards to the L Street Brownie club. “Everybody’s a Brownie on New Year’s Day,’’ he said. “If you put your big toe in, that makes you one of us.’’

Back at Woody’s L Street Tavern, where the diehards go for a pint and sirloin beef stew before and afterward, tavern co-owner Susan Woods said it helped that it fell on a weekend. “We’ve had the biggest crowd ever,’’ she said.

State Senator John Hart, a South Boston Democrat, said he was happy to support family members who dove in this year, but “I’m getting too old,’’ the 49-year-old said.

Camaraderie and the misery-likes-company phenomenon help people form lasting friendships, said Jim Chafitz, who has done the L Street dip seven times. “Sunglasses hide the pain in your face,’’ he added, as he pushed a pair into place.

Burt Freedman of Springfield was heading into the water for the 25th time on New Year’s Day, and said it gets easier each year. “You get something hard done at the beginning of the year, and the rest of it is easy,’’ he said.

Emma R. Stickgold can be reached at estickgold@globe.com.