CRADDOCKVILLE — Twenty-two hardy swimmers Saturday took a dip in the Chesapeake Bay to raise funds for Camp Occohannock on the Bay in an
inaugural event dubbed the Polar Duck Dip. The Rev. Rae Seeley, pastor of the Guilford charge, led the way from the camp’s beach into the frigid water after a prayer that revealed the group’s motivation: “We’re only doing this because we love You so much and we love this camp,” she prayed. “Man, that was invigorating,” said Dick Drury as he emerged from the water. Drury is a member of the Northampton County School Board and choir director at Bethel United Methodist Church in Jamesville. He and three fellow church members — Mel Nuckols, Bob Wells, and John Ogram — raised $1,000 in pledges from their church. Among the swimmers was pro wrestle “Nature Boy Ric Flair” — in reality Donnie Davis of Davis Wharf, who donned his son’s old Halloween costume for the event. Swimmers at Saturday’s event ranged from children as young as eight to senior citizens. They were joined in the water by a large yellow rubber duck owned by camp counselor Allison DeMoss, who last fall helped plant the idea for the fundraiser. Oak Hall resident Larry Thornton played a major role in creating and organizing the event. Thornton, who on Saturday sported colorful tie-dye from head to toe, is a charity polar swim veteran, having participated for the last ten years in a similar event held in Rehobeth Beach, Del. to raise money for the Special Olympics. Boy Scouts from Troop 313 in Onancock, led by Scoutmaster Ed Tyson, tended a blazing campfire to warm the dippers after their swim.
An ambulance crew from Community Fire Company in Exmore also was on hand, but fortunately no swimmers appeared any the worse for their chilly mid-winter dip in the bay.