The Polar Plunge, Laguna Beach Style

LAGUNA BEACH —  In New York, they frolic in the freezing surf off Coney Island.

In Minnesota, they dive through holes cut into arctic lakes.

In South Laguna, it’s a different story when members of the local Polar Bear Club take their traditional New Year’s Day dip.

“We had to throw some ice in there to cool it down,” said Dan Prinzing, one of the “polar bears” who went swimming while most people were snoozing Wednesday.

Prinzing eyed the Jacuzzi-like ocean, just off the coast of Treasure Island Mobile Home Park, and frowned.

Not every act of rebellion can be fraught with danger and derring-do, he admitted.

“Somebody had to take this part of the ocean,” he said meekly, sipping his Bloody Mary.

“It’s not Chicago’s Lake Michigan, but it’s the best we can do,” said Don Seckinger, moments after toweling off.

Founded in 1957, the Treasure Island Polar Bear Club boasts 1,000 members, though only two dozen actually dragged themselves out of bed for this year’s annual meeting.

“A lot of people regain their senses and don’t come back,” Seckinger explained.

Among the die-hards on hand Wednesday was Claudette France, who won the bathing suit competition hands down.

In purple thermal underwear, with purple false eyelashes and a floor-length blond wig, she looked like a cross between Ethel Merman and the Little Mermaid.

“Her hair got tangled in the driftwood,” Prinzing said, studying France with a concerned expression.

Asked what she hoped to prove by donning such a get-up and wading into the ocean--which club members measured at a tepid 54 degrees--France was circumspect.

First she said it was a desperate bid for attention.

Then she said it was a meaningful way to kick off the calendar year.

“If you can do this on the first day of the year,” she insisted, “then you can do anything the rest of the year.”

K.P. Rice, the club’s trident-wielding “King Neptune,” said this year’s swim actually had political overtones, since many club members face being forced from their mobile homes on the picturesque, 30-acre ocean bluff.

Treasure Island has been scheduled for redevelopment in the near future. A partnership headed by Costa Mesa businessman Richard Hall and Merrill Lynch Hubbard plans to turn the coveted land into estates, beach cottages and a 200-room luxury hotel.

But Treasure Island residents have been fighting for higher relocation benefits, and some are trying to figure out a way to stay.

“I love this place,” said Rice, a former Marine fighter pilot with a rug of white hair across his chest. “I love these people. I learned about community here.”

And no businessman in a suit can take that away, he growled, as several polar bears began serving up a picnic lunch of steak chili and champagne.

“Defeat is not an option,” Prinzing said, hoping the words would carry added weight, coming from a man who braves the “icy” surf once a year.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, he said charging into the water proved the group’s courage and resolve.

“It’s like charging the machine guns,” he said.

“It takes guts,” France added.

“It takes guts,” Prinzing mumbled, “to wear that wig.”