Swimmers take New Year's Day plunge at Portelet

The bay was relatively protected from the increasingly strong south-westerly winds, which were sweeping over Rocquaine Bay in the morning.

But it was still quite blustery as the swimmers stripped down to the their bathers and wet suits at 9.30am.

Among them was Kate Fuller, 49, who was being cheered on by coat-wrapped friends on the shoreline.

This was the final one of her 12 sea swims to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

She said while sea was warmer than it has been, it was still quite cold. She moved to Guernsey last summer, and quickly became involved in the Swim All Seasons group, which helps bring together sea swimmers.

‘They are brilliant – you make so many friends,’ she said.

She added that the swims had helped her get to know many of Guernsey’s lesser-known swimming spots, but it was nice to have a New Year’s Day swim somewhere that was easy to find. While this might have been the last of her charity swims, she said she planned to continue swimming through the rest of the winter.

Many of the swimmers were SAS members, including Alison Sehmi, 58. She started swimming after she lost her husband and said it had helped her in many ways.

‘You get to know people, and swimming in the sea – that is a real high,’ she said.

While she has now swum at many different bays, this was her first New Year’s Day swim and her first swim at Portelet.

Many people had come dressed in bright colours and fun hats, including regularly sea swimmer Jenny Mourant, 58, who had donned a Christmas pudding knitted hat for the occasion.

‘We do this every year, or we try to,’ she said. ‘We really enjoy it. We like the camaraderie.’

This was the third year this swim has been held. The event was organised by the Imperial Hotel, which was offering hot drinks, and was raising money for mental health charity Guernsey Mind.

Charity chief executive Jo Cottell said it was great to see so many people getting involved.

‘There have been lots of donations,’ she said.