ROCKAWAY PARK — Margaret Tumelty’s commitment to her weekly cold plunge into the Atlantic Ocean provides her with more than just the health benefits she believes the activity offers. It also helps strengthen her faith.
Tumelty, an occupational therapist for the New York City Department of Education, takes the dips in the wintertime months to help jump-start her mornings.
She is a member of the New York Dippers Club, a group of like-minded people who meet on the beach in the Rockaways to take a dip in the ocean out of a belief that a wintertime dip offers health benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic, some of its advantages include stress relief, reducing inflammation, and improving cognitive function.
On Feb. 18, Tumelty gamely plunged into the ocean and stood amid the waves for three minutes in 20-degree weather while being buffeted by howling winds.
“It’s probably one of the coldest days we’ve had, but I’m grateful to be here,” she said.
Despite having to brave frigid temperatures, an ocean dip on a cold day is “still a great feeling. It’s exhilarating,” said Tumelty, who added she likes the feeling of accomplishment she experiences after each one.
But for Tumelty, who is from the Rockaways and a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church in Belle Harbor, the cold plunges are about more than just the health benefits and the achievement. Every time she takes the plunge, she feels as if she is renewing her baptism.
“Water, of course, is symbolic of planting and renewal,” Tumelty said. “Definitely, each time I go in and come out, it really does remind me of a baptism out there for myself and I feel really connected to the water.”
Tumelty said she also takes the cold plunges to help her cope with her grief over the recent loss of her sister, Eileen McManus, who passed away from cancer on Jan. 11. “To see someone suffer so much is terrible,” Tumelty said.
Tumelty began the plunges in April of 2023 after she learned about its health benefits. A friend then told her about the New York Dippers Club, and she decided to join, finding a sense of community through the group’s social and charity events.
As for the dip itself, it’s not for the faint-hearted. Tumelty said when a swimmer first enters the ocean, their body has a fight or flight response” from the shock of the cold. She added that the dippers all wear bathing suits, as well as boots and gloves. While some swimmers remain in the water for several minutes, most — Tumelty included — make it a short dip before quickly heading back to shore.
Just as baptism marks a new beginning, she said the plunge offers a sense of renewal.
“So no matter what kind of a day you’re having, once you go in the water, you just cleanse,” Tumelty said. “It totally washes away whatever happened that day, any stress you might have had, any emotional stuff that might have gone on.”