OTHERS might prefer to wake up on New Year’s morning in a gradual, quiet kind of way to ease off the excesses of Hogmanay – but it’s long been known that Helensburgh is made of sterner stuff.
The New Year Dook has been a firm fixture of the town’s events calendar for generations – and If 2024 is any guide, the local appetite for seeing in January with a splash shows no sign of being undimmed.
More than 200 ‘dookers’ – a number the organisers believe may be a record - gathered at Helensburgh’s lifeboat station, at Rhu Marina, on Monday intent on raising money for the RNLI as well as on brushing off the Hogmanay cobwebs in the most vigorous fashion possible.
And with at least as many gathered on shore to watch the ‘dookers’ brave the January 1 chill, there was plenty of encouragement to hand for those who decided to take the plunge for the national lifeboat charity.
The RNLI's mascot, Stormy Stan, was on hand too to encourage spectators to dig deep to support Helensburgh's lifeboat and the volunteer crew members who provide a vital 24-hour life-saving service not just for Helensburgh and the Clyde's sea lochs but for a large part of the Firth of Clyde and the River Clyde too.
According to the local RNLI team, an estimated £2,100 was raised at the event to swell the charity's local coffers.
A spokesperson for the Helensburgh lifeboat station said: “A big cheer to all our brave New Year’s Day Dookers, and to all the spectators who came along to show their support.
“A huge thank you, too, to the crew, our volunteers ashore, and staff from Rhu Marina for organising the 2024 New Year’s Day Dook.”
The annual event has been part of the New Year calendar in Helensburgh for almost a century.
It originally took place at Helensburgh Pier, but when its survival was threatened by health and safety issues at the pier, the swim was moved to Rhu Marina - where it has gone from strength to strength.
For some 30 years it was organised by the late Billy Petrie and his family, but Billy handed over the reins to the RNLI in 2016.
It was put on hold during the Covid pandemic but made a welcome return on the first day of 2023 following two years of cancellations.
Swimmers come from far and wide to take part in the event - with past participants travelling from as far away as the United States, Canada, Norway, Holland, France, Germany, Poland and Ireland.
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