140 swimmers brave frigid Hudson to help stricken children

NYACK – The water was a biting 36 degrees but that didn't stop more than 140 brave souls from stripping down and rushing into the Hudson River Sunday for the Penguin Plunge.

The seventh-annual winter swim started by Barbara Noyes, an officer in the South Nyack-Grand View Police Department, and Pearl River resident Mike Lynch, has raised more than $125,000 in the last seven years to help pay medical bills for children with serious illnesses.

Proceeds from this year's event will help Danny van Schaik, a seventh-grader from Suffern Middle School, who is fighting leukemia; and Sangeetha John, a Tappan Zee High School senior, who has an inoperable brain tumor.

With the Tappan Zee Bridge looming in the background under cloudy gray skies, the swimmers hooted and hollered their way into the water around 1:45 p.m.

About 200 spectators cheered them on from the shore, cell phones held aloft to record every frigid splash and squeal.

"It is fun to do something crazy but when you do something crazy with a purpose it's even better," Noyles said as she toweled off.

Justin van Schaik, Danny's father, said his 12-year-old son's struggles were foremost in his mind as he dove into the icy waters with a group of friends.

"It's humbling to be in a spot where I can actually appreciate how great the community is," he said.

First-timers Jessica Kugelman, 16, and her friend Julia Dominguez, 13, both competitive swimmers in the South Orangetown school district, participated with a group of athletes from Tappan Zee High School.

"We swim in pretty cold water but it's nothing compared to this," Kugelman said.

Ashley Gankiewicz, 12, who was a beneficiary of the same event about five years ago, stood with her mother, Stacy Mariano, in the crowd of onlookers.

"We come back every year to help the next family involved," Mariano said.

New City resident Dave Chamak said he had steeled himself in preparation for his second dousing in seven years.

As he posed for a friend's camera, he joked that his violent shivering was all just for show.

"Not bad," he said, grinning. "It was refreshing."

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