By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Gregg and Annemarie Wagner were dressed to impress for a special occasion Saturday in Sea Isle City.
He stepped out on the 30th Street beach wearing red, white and blue shorts, a garish purple shirt, a sparkling beaded necklace and a neon green hat.
She was resplendent in a sequined silver dress, white coat and a white cap adorned with a polar bear face.
All of this sartorial splendor could mean only one thing: It was time for the married couple to make their annual chilly dip in the ocean to celebrate Sea Isle’s madcap Polar Bear Plunge, which is usually held over Presidents Day weekend every February.
“I went in the water all the way up to my dress,” Annemarie said, pointing to the hemline above her knee.
The Wagners, both 60, who live in Conshohocken, Pa., and have a summer vacation home in Sea Isle, were part of a small group of friends and family that made an unofficial plunge Saturday.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of Sea Isle’s official Polar Bear Plunge this year, but that didn’t stop some diehards from charging into the frigid water for their own wacky celebrations.
A blustery, freezing day tested the mettle of any self-styled “polar bear” who dared to strip down to a bathing suit to make the plunge – something that 30-year-old Baltimore resident Jesse Galliera did with gusto.
“I’m going to die. You’re going to have to save me,” Galliera joked to Gregg Wagner before they entered the surf.
About a minute later, Wagner emerged from the frosty ocean smiling and seemingly unfazed.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he assured.
However, the bare-chested Galliera was left stunned and shivering after his quick splash underwater.
“Oh, my God. I can’t even talk,” he blurted out while wrapping himself in a towel.
Galliera and his family had joined the Wagner family for the frivolity. Unlike in years past, when thousands of participants and spectators gathered on the beaches for the official plunge, Sea Isle’s shoreline was virtually empty Saturday except for small groups scattered here and there, like the Wagners and Gallieras at 30th Street.
Sea Isle officials had discouraged anyone from taking an unofficial plunge because of the freezing temperatures, gusty winds and rip currents that made conditions treacherous.
The air temperature was stuck in the low 30s, while the water temperature was in the low 40s. A raw rain made the day even more challenging for anyone who headed outside for the plunge or for some shopping, dining or drinks.
“We’re just going to the bar,” Philadelphian Jaclyn Gibbons said with a laugh as she headed to Sea Isle’s venerable Ocean Drive to share drinks with her friends, Chris Johnson and his fiancée, Shannon Doyle.
Gibbons took cover from the rain under an umbrella while walking down the sidewalk with Johnson and Doyle, who also are from Philadelphia.
Despite the plunge being canceled, many of Sea Isle’s restaurants, bars and retail shops will be open and offering special deals for Presidents Day weekend, the city announced.
The Presidents Day celebration, along with Valentine’s Day falling on Sunday, allows the town to capitalize on the extended holiday weekend.
Jesse Galliera took the plunge by himself in his family, but was joined on the beach by his parents, Janet and Bob Galliera, his sister, Stephanie and his girlfriend, Amanda Kobner. Also with them were their dogs, Blue and Copper.
Janet and Bob Galliera, who live in Downingtown, Pa., own a summer condo in Sea Isle. The Galliera family is planning to spend the entire holiday weekend at the shore for some celebrating.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, my birthday and Amanda’s birthday,” Janet Galliera noted.
Usually, the plunge serves as the centerpiece of Sea Isle’s Polar Bear Plunge Weekend of partying, dining and shopping. The mega-celebration awakens the shore town from its winter hibernation and reinvigorates the local economy.
Sea Isle traditionally attracts tens of thousands of people to town over the Presidents Day weekend for the polar bear festivities.
However, COVID-19 restrictions put in place by Gov. Phil Murphy to slow the spread of the virus made it impossible to hold the plunge this year. Currently, general outdoor gatherings are limited to a maximum of 25 people, according to New Jersey’s coronavirus-related crowd restrictions.
The restrictions also require bars and restaurants to operate at no more than 35 percent capacity and to close at 10 p.m. each night.
Bujar Daku, owner of La Fontana Coast, an upscale Italian restaurant at the corner of 50th Street and Landis Avenue in Sea Isle, said he believes it will be an unusually quiet holiday weekend because of the plunge’s cancellation.
“This weekend used to be crazy. This year, it’s not all that busy,” he said, comparing the difference between the Polar Bear Plunge weekends and this year.
Daku also owns Fratelli’s Wood Fired Pizzeria, which is located across the street from La Fontana Coast. Both of his restaurants will be open for the entire holiday weekend.
He noted that other businesses will also stay open for the weekend in hopes that Sea Isle will attract holiday crowds.
