West Coast winter can't keep our hardiest neighbours indoors

The Powtown Popsicles at Willingdon Beach November 14. The water was 8°C and air was 6°C degrees. (Photo by Pieta Woolley)

They swim in the ocean; they motorcycle in the mud; they run through the freezing rain. Meet a few local folks who take mainstream summer activities year-round.

For many, the idea of immersing oneself in the ocean in the middle of December is about as appealing as eating an entire fruit cake in one sitting. Yet Powtown Popsicles insist their daily dip is uplifting and invigorating.

The first 30 seconds in the water are the hardest – that’s when your body is acclimatizing and saying, ‘Oh dear why am I here?’ But when you get past that and you start talking to another Popsicle, you forget just how cold it is, says swimmer Pat Turner.

THEY’RE CHILL LIKE THAT: The Powtown Popsicles just before they dove in to the Willingdon Beach water on November 14. They swim every day of the year.

Now in their fourth year, the Popsicles are going strong with a membership list of 27. Deb Calderon, Popsicle co-instigator with Giselle Robichaud, says, it started, like all things, with an idea.

“I swim every day in the summer, but I was never a cold water swimmer. That first winter, we were a small group, but we had a lot of fun,” she said.

Jill Buckley is another long time Popsicle. “I’d read that it was good for you, and I needed a challenge. You really must tell your brain to let you go swimming, but I never regret swimming even if I have to push myself to go.”

Deb likes how cold-water swimming makes her feel.

“When you’re in the water you don’t think about anything else, you are just in the moment. Summer is easy but it has no guts. Getting in the water is harder in the winter because it’s cold, but when you get out it’s warm and it’s very empowering. If you can do this you can do your own taxes.”

The swimmers all agree that the community they’ve created through year-round swimming is one that they’re incredibly grateful for.

THEY’RE CHILL LIKE THAT: The Powtown Popsicles just before they dove in to the Willingdon Beach water on November 14. They swim every day of the year.

During COVID, especially during the early days of the pandemic when people were told not to gather and then when they could to stay 10 feet apart, the Popsicles said their swimming practice saved them.

“It was very important for all of us, it was the only thing we could do that was safe. We have so much fun, we laugh a lot, we meet a daily challenge together and we always feel good afterwards,” says Jill. “It helped us keep our sanity,” says Deb. “Every day we’d get together at the beach – we had something positive to look forward to.”

Swimmers say cold water swimming elevates your mood. “It makes me happy. When you conquer that mind over matter it makes you feel strong and realize there are other things that you can do,” says Jill. Improved circulation is another benefit cold water swimmers realize. Pat Turner has arthritis in one knee, and she says cold water swimming helps reduce the swelling in her knee and any other inflammation that crops up. She swears it helps lower her blood pressure and she sleeps better and deeper when she swims according to her Fit Bit. But best of all are her Popsicle friends. “We swam through COVID, we’d meet, exchange ideas, have some laughs and it’s a wonderful group of people.”

At the end of the swim, Popsicles dry themselves off on the beach and compare their latest fabulous fashion finds from the local thrift shops while they warm up.

And of course, there’s the bragging rights. How many of us can say we swim year-round with the Powtown Popsicles?

|| isabelle@prliving.ca