BEING dunked in freezing cold water is not how most people would choose to spend their Boxing Day.
But hundreds of people turned out to watch a group of divers take turns dipping each other in the waters of the Camber Dock in Old Portsmouth yesterday.
The event was held to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Sam Jenkins, 20, of Havant Road in Drayton, was one of the daredevil dippers who took part.
He said: ‘It was pretty cold but it wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be.
‘It’s a bit of fun and it raises lots of money for a good cause.
‘I’ve been doing it since I was 16 and I really enjoy it.’
Fundraisers pulled a rope tight across the middle of the Camber while people in wetsuits tried to clamber along it.
But as soon as they grabbed hold of the rope the two teams on either side would swing the rope up and down to try to knock them off.
Most were sent flying after only a few metres.
But one or two managed to cling on to nearly reach the end.
Each one was treated to a round of applause from the hundreds of onlookers who gathered to watch.
Meanwhile, along the seafront at Eastney, people went for a Boxing Day swim to raise money for charity.
Scarlett Harvey-Whitten, 15, of Magdalen Road in Cosham, braved the cold waters on the beach with three of her friends from Springfield School.
They are raising money to fund a trip to Kenya with their school.
Scarlett said: ‘It went really well.
‘The sea was much colder than I imagined.
‘But we had lots of fun with our friends and families there to cheer us on.’
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