Dozens of women, men strip down for good cause on Hudson River

NEW YORK - Around 60 people are said to have embarked on the second annual “Naked” Polar Bear Cruise, with dozens of bikini-clad women and swim-trunk wearing men stripping for a good cause.

The event, which had taken place on the Hudson River on February 27, was sponsored by the Polar Bear Club and Circle Line Cruises and benefited the Wildlife Conservation Society, which oversees the Bronx Zoo.You’re doing this for wildlife, but you’re nuts,” the New York Daily News quoted Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as telling them.

Participants collected donations for each minute they remained outside on the ship’s deck in next to nothing, and donations also were raised through a 20-dollar fee for non-participants.

“This will not be as bad as the swim,” Jim Breheny, who runs the Bronx Zoo, said referring to the annual Coney Island Polar Bear New Year’s Day plunge.

“When you come off, you’re still dry at least,” he stated.

Most of the men and women exercised or danced to stay warm, and a few swung hula-hoops around their hips.

“I got all my teachers to sponsor me,” Chris Geller, 17, of Bergen County, N.J., said as he jumped around on the deck.

Greg Fox, 38, entertained the crowd by jumping onto a life jacket box and performing a pole dance on a light post.

“I feel great,” said a breathless Fox, of Stuyvesant Town.

“After this, I want to jump into the river to warm up,” he added.

The temperature on land hovered around 35 degrees. On board, a blustery wind occasionally blew a mist of snow from the ship’s rooftop onto the crowd.

It was a bit too much for Julia Slesarchik, 16, who threw in the towel after 30 minutes.

“I’m surprised I even lasted that long,” she said, wearing a yellow and pink bikini.

“I’m not really cold tolerant,” she added. (ANI)