Northern Beaufort County plunges in to the New Year for good causes
By Luke Frazier
For The Island News
The notion of “plunging” suggests several things: low necklines, falling stock prices, perhaps a bathroom mishap.
On New Year’s Day in Beaufort, however, plunging manifested in two separate events, 20 miles apart, in two different bodies of water. Both were charity fundraisers where participants displayed warm hearts, even as their bodies dipped in frigid waters.
On Hunting Island the event is called the Pelican Plunge, and this was the 16th annual. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Friends of Hunting Island. About 450 people showed up, some in costumes, most with big smiles. According to park rangers, three hundred or so made the actual plunge, racing behind a costumed pelican to the water.
Other costumes included crab hats, bejeweled mermaids, Dr. Seuss attire, inflated pony heads on sticks, and a group of folks who built a portable snow fort and pelted the crowd with soft pseudo snowballs.
Linda Miller, President of Friends of Hunting Island State Park, said besides raising funds, the plunge has become a ritual of sorts.
“That’s a big piece of this — reunions, people coming together,” she said. “They may have been in the area for Christmas, and they extend it because they know the plunge is coming up and they get a little more family time together.”
Miller said after expenses the financial gain is modest but stressed the importance of the plunge is more related to the community connection. The Rentz family from nearby St. Helena Island echoed Miller’s assessment. Chad Rentz was there with his wife and three kids.
“We’re here because of a New Year’s tradition with the family,” he said. “The plunge is something to look forward to, something to talk about, something to tell our grandkids. It’s great seeing everybody participating as a community and a fantastic way to start out the year doing something with the people I love.”
One family that had no idea the plunge even a thing was the Murrays from Abingdon in southwest Virginia. They were camping on the island and heard about it at the campground store. Matriarch Laura Murray stood ready with towels for her two plunging daughters.
“To be able to start the new year with a refreshing plunge so you can renew your spirit and your bonding and your family time together,” she said. “It’s all important.”
The second event took place in the afternoon at Sands Beach in Port Royal. It’s called the Pirate Plunge and benefits the nonprofit Child Abuse Prevention Association (CAPA). It is a part of a series of fundraisers leading up to CAPA’s big Dancing with Our Stars event in early March.
Emily Webb was one of this year’s stars and is an Assistant Professor of Genetics & Molecular Biology at USCB. Despite being busy with research interests like emerging mosquito-borne viruses, she found time to dress up as a swashbuckling pirate and encourage the plungers.
“I will not be jumping in the cold water but I’m going to be cheerleading everyone that is,” she said in New Year’s Day. “I think it encourages everyone to start the year out on a happy, good, silly note. Plus it raises money for an important cause.”
Another non-plunger was Tim Newman, a former Marine who lost a leg to an IED when he was a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. He has helped organize the event since its inception and doesn’t shy away from jokes about his inside track to pirating.
“I can become a pirate in about a minute and a half by just replacing my prosthetic with a peg leg,” he said. “Then I just have to put on the skirt.”
That kind of warm-hearted humor was evident among the crowd of maybe 150 people, half of which took the plunge. Folks were there to have fun and dress up as pirates even as they knew the issue they cared about was serious.
Nan Sutton of Beaufort is also a dancing star this year and was happily handing out tickets for participants to get a free post-plunge drink at Shellring Ale Works, a proud supporter of CAPA.
“People just know that when they come out, they are supporting a great nonprofit that does a lot of great things for kids who need help.”
Between the idea of a secular baptism to welcome 2026 and the deep expressions of concern for the welfare of kids, the two events demonstrated the generous heart of Beaufort.
Luke Frazier is a writer and award winning media producer who moved to the Lowcountry in 2024. He runs NOW Communications and can be reached at nowandfuturecomms@gmail.com.
