ROCKLAND — “It’s almost like you’ve got to smoke a pack of cigarettes and drink a ton of whiskey before heading to jail,” said Sarah Waterman, 34, after a cold swim in Rockland Harbor on Jan. 17. Waterman, who heads to Hawaii today to train on a women’s outrigger and paddling team, is not a fan of the heat. Loves Hawaii, but not the humidity.

“That’s the best analogy I can come up with before diving in,” she said. “It’s the cold I crave. I needed to suck up the cold of the ocean one last time before I headed out.”

Waterman grew up in Maine and is most definitely an outdoor girl. Most of her part-time jobs in-between traveling involve lobstering, landscaping, gardening or anything that involves hands-on work.

At 10:30 a.m., she walked down to the docks, by Archer’s On The Pier, followed by some friends who had emergency blankets, hot cocoa and warm socks and mittens when she got out. She timed out how long a swim in 35 degree Fahrenheit water would take before hypothermia set in. She just did this swim last month—albeit when it was 10 degrees warmer.

“You sure you don’t want me to get you my wet suit?” said one of her friends.

“Naw, even if you do, I’m just gonna jump in anyway,” said Waterman. “That’s just how I do it. If you put too many restrictions on me, I’m just going to do it while you’re running back to get the suit.”

She swims in the ocean every year around this time. Her mother died of cancer 10 years ago this month. There’s a social tendency to link brave feats like this to memorials or fundraisers, but Waterman didn’t need it for her mother. This is a personal thing.

In water this cold, it generally takes about 10 minutes before a person begins to succumb to hypothermia. There’s also the possibility of cold shock response, which is the body’s response to sudden cold water immersion. For those not habituated to cold water, diving in may trigger an elevated heart rate and stress, which could lead to a heart attack. Waterman fully knew the risks of potentially cramping up without a safety boat nearby. She said every time she does this, her heart hammers a bit and she chants a small mantra in her head to quell the fears. It’s a little prayer to the ocean asking it to keep her safe.

Shedding her Muck boots down to a sleeveless neoprene shirt and leggings, she dove in, while her friends raced back to their cars to meet her over at the Public Landing in Rockland. Other friends were posted at the Public Landing with a life ring.

“When I dove in, I could immediately feel the cold right up in my armpits,” she said. The swim took her no more than three minutes. When she walked out on the beach in bare feet and climbed up the rocky embankment, she was grinning ear to ear.

“I needed to get as much cold in me as I could,” she said. “But I’ll definitely take a hot coffee and whiskey now.”

View the gallery to see the swim. All photos by Kay Stephens.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com