PICTURES: Record numbers turn out for icy new year dook at Cullen
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THERE was a bumper turnout when the Cullen New Year Dook took to the water.
Weather conditions at the turn of the year meant the event had to be pushed back to Sunday, January 7 but that did not deter over 150 people – a record number – coming along to brave the icy waters of Cullen Bay.
Organised by the Wild Dookers group, the event followed on from the successful Boxing Day Dook which, due to the sea conditions prevalent at the time, had to be held in the harbour as opposed to the beach.
However, there was a welcome return to the beach for new year, which included rousing tunes from Huntly and District Pipe Band piper Archie Milne to accompany the group into the water, which was a bracing 5-6oC.
Wild Dookers founder Emma Williams said: "The dook went really well with over 150 people coming along.
"This is the most we've had so far – we had about 88 at last year's new year dook so I'm delighted we've basically doubled that.
"It was so good to see people coming along and enjoying themselves.
Normally the dook would be on January 2 but the forecast for sea conditions was pretty horrific, so I pushed it back to January 6.
"The Wild Dookers group now has about 1700 members, we've had a lot of people joining over the last week or so."
The dooks are not just about having fun and staying healthy, there is a charity aspect to them as well which has seen thousands of pounds raised for mental health good causes.
The group have raised money for SAMH, Mikeysline and latterly the focus has been on Latnem, a charity which offers peer support for mums and birthing people.
Ms Williams continued: "We raised £200 at the new year dook which brings our total so far for Latnem to £3050.
"Last year I did a skydive fundraiser for Mikeysline so this time around I want to do something different – I'll have to get my thinking cap on!"
Keep up to date with Wild Dookers news and events by following their Facebook page.
