Hundreds turn out for FOHI’s annual Pelican Plunge
By Bob Sofaly and Delayna Earley
The Island News
The Friends of Hunting Island held their 14th annual Pelican Plunge on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, and by all accounts it was a huge success.
Even the weather warmed up after the sun came out, though the water remained a chilly 55 degrees.
Sherri DeFoor, membership director for the Friends of Hunting Island State Park, said this year’s participating “plungers” exceeded last year’s count.
“We had 452 registered plungers,” she said of the record-breaking turnout.
There were 401 plungers in 2023.
Briana Robles and her husband Brandon participated in the plunge in 2023 for the first time and loved it so much that they came back again this year.
“It was freezing. You could feel the tingling in your body as you got deeper into the water,” Robles said about the experience this year. “My husband managed to stay out in the freezing water for about 15 minutes, and I’m not sure how he did it. I went back out into the water once to make sure I had gotten fully submerged.”
The Robles have lived in Beaufort since 2017 and will be moving back to their home state of New Mexico in February to be closer to their family, so they treated this event as a send-off from the Lowcountry.
“It has been a blast both years, and we both feel like it’s a great way to start off the new year feeling refreshed and energized,” Robles said.
DeFoor said this year’s event raised $3,766 to help pay for renovations to the Hunting Island lighthouse’s Fresnel lens.
The lighthouse was built in 1875 and is one of only 39 lighthouses still operating in the country.
The money raised will also go to fund a storage unit for the lighthouse.
DeFoor was somewhat mysterious when asked if there were any changes to be expected for the 2025 Pelican Plunge.
She chuckled and said there were going to be a few changes and hinted that, “it’ll take on a more Caribbean vibe.”
Bob Sofaly has been photographing people and what they do in Beaufort since Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. He can be reached at bobsofaly@gmail.com.
Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
