The annual polar plunge drew a handful of brave souls to take a dive into the frigid Pacific Ocean at Ocean Beach on January 1, 2021.(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

A number of participants braved the waves without their bathing suits. (Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

Sam Houston of San Francisco gets dressed after taking his first polar plunge into the Pacific Ocean.(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

(Chris Victorio | Special to the S.F. Examiner).

Participants mingled and enjoyed the relatively warm air after the annual polar plunge at Ocean Beach on January 1, 2021. (Ming Vong/S.F. Examiner)

(Ming Vong/S.F. Examiner)

Swimmers of all ages and sizes and varying states of undress braved the chilly water of the Pacific Ocean Friday at Ocean Beach for an annual polar plunge.

While the annual New Year’s Day event usually ends with a gathering at the Riptide, a popular bar on Taraval, this year the Riptide is closed and the plunge officially canceled.

But the bar posted a message on its Facebook page urging patrons to spread out at the beach and “take The Plunge and make it your own this year!”

And that’s what residents did, racing toward the waves enthusiastically at the stroke of noon.

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