Many people have a daily habit that occurs with minimal effort or hesitation, such as brushing their teeth, making the morning coffee, or tying a child’s shoes. Long Beach resident Mindi Dovberg has established her own daily routine over the past three and a half years, centered around water immersion.
On Oct. 25, Dovberg marked her 1,300th consecutive day of getting into a moving body of water, almost always in the Long Beach area. Sometimes she enjoys a complete, leisurely swim and sometimes inclement weather necessitates brief, knee-deep wade. Even when traveling, Dovberg has made sure to find an accessible lake or waterway to maintain her streak, often using Google Maps to scout the area and preplan her daily dunk.
“It’s a habit that I don’t want to break,” Mindi Dovberg said after emerging from 61-degree Atlantic Ocean waters at Washington Boulevard beach. “I absolutely I love this feeling. You can see on my arms that my chill bumps are out, but I’m not rushing to get warm.”
Dovberg began the tradition in March 2023 to help manage pain from an assortment of knee, back and nerve injuries. By Nov. 2023, she organized the “Sunday Splashers” — a collective of local water-lovers who join her for a weekend plunge. Colleen Woods of Long Beach joined the Splashers just weeks earlier and was one of eight participants sharing in Dovberg’s 1,300th experience. Woods is still adapting to the water, which has yet to warm up for the season, but plans to continue for as long as possible.
For the past three years, Megan White has traveled from Queens to participate in the “N.Y. Dippers,” based in Rockaway, where Dovberg is also a member. “I used to do the polar bear dip in Coney Island,” White said. “I noticed that I felt really exhilarated after coming out of the water, even though it was torture as first.” Dovberg has also discussed the positive physical, emotional, and mental benefits she’s noticed from cold water plunging. Dovberg noticed that, over time, she stopped rushing to grab a towel after exiting the water. Instead of shivering and dreading the chill, she appreciated the total-body sensation and invigoration from the temperature shift.
“It’s just incredible. It’s the realization that it’s not really discomfort because it feels good,” Dovberg explained. “That’s the switch that everyone has to take away. The cold water is not an end.”
