Polar Bear Plunge faces murky future

If Olalla’s famous Polar Bear Plunge has any future, it’s going to have to overcome the one-two punch of well-heeled neighbors and personal injury lawyers.

Word came last week that Kitsap County, after years of off-and-on again negotiations, had purchased the Ollala boat ramp and tidelands. Best known as the site of the Polar Bear Plunge, which attracts hundreds of hardy souls every New Years’ Day who dive off the pier into the frigid waters of the bay, the site includes an acre of upland and nine acres of tidelands, on either side of the county-owned bridge adjoining the boat ramp.

The land was sold to the county for $175,000 by David and Tyra Blaisdell, who with Gig Harbor investor Ray Hjalseth purchased much of the property last September from longtime owner Marianne Stewart. Meanwhile, Hjalseth and the Blaisdells have announced plans to construct a gated community of 10 homes, each priced at around $1 million with views of Olalla Bay and Colvos Passage, on the remainder of the property they purchased from Nelson.

There’s no indication of any connection between the county’s being able purchase 10 acres of prime waterfront for the relatively modest price of $175,000 and the partnership’s confidence it can obtain the necessary building permits for its gated community in a timely fashion.

In any case, it’s hard to reconcile the conflicting images of $1 million waterfront homes with the New Year’s Day revelers who frequent the Polar Bear Plunge. Even more unlikely, however, is the idea of the Plunge passing muster with the county’s legal advisers. A spokesman for the county said once the sale is finalized, the fate of the event would be in the hands of the county risk management department, county civil lawyers and the commissioners.

In other words, don’t hold your breath. Colorful though the Polar Bear Plunge may be, leaping from an elevated pier into near-freezing water obviously carries with it a certain amount of risk, and the county would be foolish to set itself up to be sued by an injured plunger.

Short of asking every participant to sign a legal waiver, which would rob the event of its spontaneity even if it could be done, there’s little the county could do to protect itself. And as taxpayers, Kitsap residents shouldn’t expect — or even permit — the event to continue in its current unsanctioned , unregulated and uninsured format.

It’s hard to imagine New Year’s Day in South Kitsap without the Polar Bear Plunge. But with the pier now in the taxpayers’ hands — meaning we’re all responsible to some extent for the well-being of those who use it — the county is going to either have to find a way to make it safer, inoculate itself from lawsuits, or shut the event down.

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