Sheringham Lifeboat Helmsman Liam Cooper started the dip in 2017 (with assistance from fellow Helmsman Chris Taylor). Fifty dippers took part in 2017, this increased to 143 in 2018 and in 2019 313 brave souls entered the water. This year that total has been well and truly surpassed with a total of 517 brave dippers taking to the water today. Bucket collectors raised a total of £2,200 (again surpassing last years total of £1560) for the record crowd, an estimated 3000 spectators.
The Crown Inn donated a £50 voucher for the best fancy dress costume which was won by a group of chaps with amazing homemade seagull costumes.
The organisers would like to thank the Sheringham Carnival Committee for their help in registering the dippers, marshalling the event, providing First Aid cover and providing the necessary insurances. Thanks also to HM Coastguard, ensuring that all participants were kept safe on the beach and in the water.
The Sheringham RNLI team are also to be thanked for launching the Sheringham RNLI Inshore Lifeboat keeping an eye on proceedings from the chilly North Sea. Thank you also to the bucket collectors and of course to the RNLI mascot Stormy Stan (He does get about, doesn't he!!).
Of course the biggest thanks has to go to the dippers and their supporters who turn up year after year to make this, now annual, dip such a successful community event in the Town of Sheringham.
After the event Liam said, 'After such huge numbers this year we have decided to move the dip for future years a little further west to the wider beaches opposite ‘Marble Arch’ in Sheringham, this will provide much more beach for the dippers and lots more viewing space for the spectators.'
RNLI Media contacts
For more information please contact Dick Grieve, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on: 07884 495155.
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
