It’s an annual rite of passage, a time when the nearly naked and somewhat afraid plunge together into bone-chilling waters, however briefly, in the spirit of cleansing the past and making a compact with their new year’s resolutions. At Thetis Lake, hundreds take part in this madness called the polar bear swim. For most participants it’s a quick in-and-out, a brief brush with extreme cold — just long enough to collect some bragging rights. For the second year the annual event, now in its 39th year, was held at Thetis Lake Regional Park in View Royal. (A blue-green algae bloom prompted organizers to relocate the swim from Elk-Beaver Lake last year.) The air temperature in Greater Victoria was about 3 C at 2 p.m. when the event was held, which is in the normal range for this time of year between a low of 1 C to a high of 6 C.
