Gafirs' famous New Year's Day dip returns to Stokes Bay

The event has been running for more than 40 years as a way to raise funds for the independent lifeboat charity service.

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On January 1, people will be gathering on the slipway outside Gafirs like boat station on Lifeboat Lane in Stokes Bay, Gosport for what is always a refreshing dip – and sometimes serves to jolt people out of their New Year’s Eve hangovers.

The New Year’s Day swim will take place at midday with large crowds expected, and participants are encouraged to stay for as long as they like. In recent years, attendees have appeared in costume.

The last time a full New Year’s Day dip was help was in 2020, three months before the first lockdown in the pandemic, although even in the intervening couple of years there have been impromptu get-togethers on the beach to mark the first day of the year.

Gafirs secretary Keith Thomas said: ‘We aim as far as possible to be a 24/7 service right around throughout the year and we’re close to achieving that every year.

‘So anything at all we get from the public, it helps with our maintenance and our fuel, training costs for the staff and so on, all those sort of things that we have to fund.

‘As an independent lifeboat station we do not receive any funding from the RNLI, so events like our New Year’s Day swim are vital in keeping us afloat all year to save lives in the local waters.’

Gafirs was an independent rescue service that was founded in 1969, and covers the eastern Solent and Portsmouth Harbour.

On average the crews respond to 100 incidents per year, which can include towing stricken vessels away from danger, up to providing life-saving first aid to injured casualties.

As its website says: ‘Time and time again our teams have been awarded national commendations for our life saving services to the community. Our members commit hundreds of hours each per year in order to maintain this vital public service.’

For more information about the event visit the website: www.gafirs.org.uk