REPOSTED ON JANUARY 1, 2021: SOUTH BOSTON — Hundreds of intrepid swimmers, many donning costumes, made the leap into Dorchester Bay outside the Curley Community Center on Columbia Road on January 1, 2020, as part of the L Street Brownies’ annual New Year’s Day Plunge.

The water off of the L Street and M Street beaches was a balmy 42 degrees for the plunge, according to the National Weather Service. The air temperature was also 42 degrees, but with the windchill felt like 32 degrees.

Some 400 swimmers were estimated to take part in the noontime swim, down from last year’s estimated 600, for this 117th annual plunge. The club is considered to be one of the oldest “polar” swim club in the United States.

Many participants made the plunge to support scleroderma research.

The Boston Herald reported that a woman was taken on a stretcher into an ambulance outside the center, and her condition was immediately unknown.

All photos by Bill Brett

To view Bill Brett’s photos from the 2019 L Street Brownies Plunge, click here. And for the 2018 L Street Brownies Plunge, click here.

To view Bill Brett’s photos from the 2017 L Street Brownies Plunge, click here.