(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Thousands
of people braved the biting cold of a Belgian winter yesterday to take a
dip in the North Sea in Ostend's traditional New Year's plunge.
Undeterred
by air temperatures of 6° Celsius (43° Fahrenheit) and equally chilly
water, 4,500 people, many clad in fancy dress, ran down the beach in
front of the city's neoclassical Royal Galleries.
While some did
little more than wet their ankles, others took advantage of the presence
of many lifeguards to take a proper dive into the waves.
'When you go in, it's cold but once you are in longer, it's very good, very nice, said Joris, who was wearing a caveman outfit.
Organisers
said the 27th edition of the New Year's plunge was average in terms of
temperature and attendance, following an exceptionally cold 2017 edition
when brisk winds pushed temperatures well below freezing.
'It's our
fifth year now. We had to skip last year because it was on New Year's
day and we would have been a little drunk from the day before, said
Jordy Velders from the Flemish town of Lokeren, who, like his friends,
was dressed up as a penguin.
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