Polar plunges at Main Beach in East Hampton and Beach Lane in Wainscott on New Year’s Day accomplish many things. They offer bracing and exhilarating starts to the year, the company of many hundreds of friends and fellow townspeople, and a chance to secure bragging rights that extend well into 2026. But most important, each serves as a critical fund-raiser for food pantries.
The Main Beach plunge, at 1 p.m., supports the East Hampton Food Pantry; the Wainscott one, at 2:30 p.m., benefits the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry.
Same-day registration in East Hampton begins at 11:30 a.m. A donation of $40 is asked. In Wainscott, same-day registration is at 2 p.m., and plungers are asked to pay the $35 fee in cash. Alternatively (and preferably, say the pantries), registration can be done in advance at easthamptonfoodpantry.org or sagharborfoodpantry.org.
Traffic ahead of the Main Beach dip is famously daunting, so those hoping to get there in time to join the crowd at 1 are advised to arrive an hour to half an hour early.
The Y.M.C.A. Hurricanes swim team and East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue host the Main Beach plunge, and Sotheby’s International Realty’s Hamptons brokerages are sponsoring the knit caps that can be bought on the pavilion deck, meaning that all proceeds from sales will go directly to the food pantry.
In Wainscott, Colin Mather of the Seafood Shop, who started the tradition there, will lead a 1.6-mile run from his shop to the beach ahead of the plunge. Anyone who wants to join him should show up by 1:50. All participants in the Wainscott plunge get a beanie; others can buy them at the beach for $35 cash. C.K.
