On Sunday morning, a few minutes before 9 a.m., approximately a dozen giddy New Yorkers, most of whom are middle-aged, gathered at Rockaway Beach at 67th Street. Some hugged the others when they arrived. Two women ran up the boardwalk yelling, “Whoo-hoo, let’s do this.”
The group was wearing only bathing suits — board shorts, bikinis and one-pieces — topped with dry jackets. It was February, and they were going in the ocean.