Many hearty souls joined the Welcome to Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the annual New Year's Day dip into the Atlantic. Lucky for us, some Gothamist readers were on the scene and have taken some great photographs. Here are a few.

The Coney Island Polar Bear Club's Q&A answers the question, "Are you folks nuts?" with:

Not particularly. We're just a group of people from all walks of life who deeply enjoy the activity of cold water swimming. Some do it for possible health benefits. Some do it for the love of water. Some do it to stay active at Coney Island. And others, well, maybe a few of us are nuts. But all do it for the fun of it. If it's not fun, then stay out of the water.

Were you with the Polar Bears? Did you dare dip into the chilly seas? Tell us!

Top and middle photographs by lornagrl on Flickr; see her set here. Bottom photograph by zodak on Flickr; see his set here