Polar Bear Swim - 2006 Polar Bear

When asked why someone in their right mind would voluntarily jump into freezing cold water in the middle of January, Portsmouth Rotary Club President Karen Wendall responded, "Why not?"

About 25 Rotary members and their friends - dressed in bathing suits, Viking costumes and even a warrior princess getup - leaped into the Atlantic Saturday in the third annual Polar Bear Swim, expected to raise anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 for various causes.