Port Beach Polar Bears: Dozens of swimmers take the plunge as temperatures dip to single digits

West Australian

27-05-2025

Introducing the Port Beach Polar Bears — a 250-strong group of ocean enthusiasts who take a dip every day of the year at sunrise no matter how cold it is.
Since the early 1990's, the group has been gathering at Port Beach every morning for a 15 to 30 minute early morning dip.
President Col Werner has been part of the Polar Bears for about 15 years and says he takes the plunge up to four days a week.
'It's not always about having a swim, sometimes it's for older members who don't have great mobility access and they just dip in the water,' the 54-year-old said.
'The hardest part is getting in the water ... once you're in, it clears out the noise.'
He said ocean swimming was all about stress relief, admitting 'I always come out of the water better than I went in'.
'We all carry some kind of stress with us, but you have to be able to release it,' he said.
'(Swimming) is about releasing that stress and feeling really good and healthy, because health isn't just about your physical health, it's about your mental health as well.
'When I swim, I just focus on letting go of whatever tension I've got and just let go.'
Mr Werner said the trick to braving the cold was learning how to breathe.
'Taking short, sharp breaths is the way to get your mind to stop thinking,' he said.
'The trick is to not let your mind take over.'
It comes as Perth shivers through a wave of icy mornings, with the mercury dipping to just 4.2C and 6C on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Meteorologist Jessica Lingard said chilly mornings were typical for this time of year but were a shock to the system given the warm start to May.
'We've had a very warm start to May and a very dry one as well,' she said.
'We're starting to slowly come into some cooler temperatures which are typical for this time of year, but they certainly feel a little jarring, especially (compared) to the start of May being so warm.'
She said West Australians could expect mild mornings and rainfall over the next few days, thanks to extra cloud coverage.
'We're going to see some increased rainfall towards the end of the week and into the early parts of next week, which means there's going to be plenty of cloud around ... so temperatures won't be as cold over the next few nights,' she said.
'But certainly, as we move into June and July, we typically see our coldest nights of the year, so we are going to have to get used to a few more of these fresh mornings.'
Wednesday:
9C - 23C, mostly sunny
Thursday:
11C - 22C, showers
Friday:
13C - 22C, showers
Saturday:
13C - 21C, showers
Sunday:
11C - 22C, showers
Monday:
12C - 21C, showers