The Warm Embrace of the Polar Bears

At 7:30 on Saturday morning, 70 swimmers waded into the water at Inkwell Beach in Oak Bluffs, hand-in-hand. Some surged quickly past the breaking waves toward the sun, barely up and impossibly bright. Others hesitated, stopping when the water reached their knees.

“Submerge your shoulders!” someone called from the surf. “You’ll warm up quicker!”

The swimmers formed a large circle, observing a lively aerobics routine with different instructors at the helm. Others were out in the deep water, swimming laps. Then, facing the horizon, the group joined together for a moment of meditation — on grief, on gratitude, on togetherness.

For the Polar Bears, this is how every day of the summer, for the last 80 years, begins.

The group formed at Inkwell Beach in 1946, created by a group of African-American seasonal residents living under segregation who wanted to exercise together in the water. Today, the group’s early-morning meetings endure, welcoming people of all ages and identities who value movement and fellowship.

The group is led by Caroline Hunter, who has been a Polar Bear for 38 years. Though “leader” is her title, she said the group prioritizes democracy without bureaucracy. She called it “the most democratic, organized, non-organization.”

“The goal [is] really to enjoy the water, to swim, to celebrate each other, and look after each other and the beach,” she said.

If anything, Ms. Hunter said, the Polar Bears operate like geese. Much like the migratory birds, she explained, members of the group are skilled at seamlessly picking up slack when instructors and leaders are out of commission.

“When someone’s out or the leader can’t lead, somebody just steps up,” she said.

The Polar Bears basically stick to the same routine each day to keep things consistent for regulars. Ms. Hunter compared it to an exercise class at the gym. But new movements are occasionally added, or even invented on the spot.

“The goal is not to tell everybody everything we do, because we want people to come in and discover it,” she said.

People visit the Island from far and wide to discover what the Polar Bears have to offer — an offer that has remained steadfast and consistent.

In 1997, the Gazette published excerpts from a journal that the Polar Bears kept about their experiences. Members remarked on the joy and restorative properties of getting in the water with the group.

“These times with these beautiful people in our beautiful waters on our beautiful Island sustain one in the ups and downs of our days,” wrote Elouise Allen.

“What a great, gay, happy group,” wrote Juanita Handy.

That year, the Gazette reported that there were about 85 official Polar Bears in total, some on Island and others scattered about the world. And 30 years ago, as today, the daily swim started at 7:30 a.m. sharp and sometimes concluded with coffee and breakfast on the beach.

The spirit is the same, but the reach has grown. On this season’s July 4 opening alone, 273 Polar Bears were in the water — a new record.

Statistics, though thoroughly kept, come second to unity, no matter how many Polar Bears are in the water.

“The original Polar Bears were not interested in numbers, but they were interested in fellowship,” Ms. Hunter said.

The Polar Bears wanted to find different ways to honor this fellowship for the group’s 80th year. Ms. Hunter worked with Zita Cousens, owner-curator at Cousen Rose Gallery in Oak Bluffs, to bring to life an exhibition commemorating the group across different artistic mediums.

“Even though many people have drawn us or taken pictures of us in the water, each of those photographs are different, each one of those art renderings are different,” Ms. Hunter said.

The exhibit is anchored by Michael Johnson’s photograph, Joy, which captures a group of about 20 polar bears in silhouette, leaping out of the water, arms outstretched. It also features photographs by Doug Allen, Jeanna Shepard, Alison Shaw and Michael Blanchard. 

But photography is just the beginning when it comes to the gallery’s wide array of artistic interpretations. In collage and acrylic on canvas, Ekua Holmes’ God’s Eye View shows the Polar Bears from above, like a pupil surrounded by the ocean’s iris. In oil on canvas, Lexi Loyot depicts the swimmers swirling in a yellow, sun-drenched vortex.

E.B. Lewis’s artwork of the exercise circle is overlaid with Richard Michelson’s poem, Where Polar Bears Gather.

“The ocean doesn’t care / Your age, beliefs or race,” the poem reads. “The love that fills this place… is like a warm embrace.”

Though Ms. Cousens is not a Polar Bear herself, she’s heard countless stories from those who have experienced, and loved, what the group has to offer.

“There are people that come from the Midwest who are fascinated, and so they go, and they come back here and talk to me about it and how it made them feel,” she said.

And no two experiences are the same, she added.

“If you get 100 people, that’s 100 different emotions,” she said.

For Dan Henry, a Polar Bear for over a decade, the experience has been profound. He’s brought many new members into the water.

“It’s this beautiful, eclectic community of people that really reflects the best of what we could be as a human existence,” Mr. Henry told the Gazette. “It’s such a powerful [feeling] every morning to see people from literally every walk of life, every race, every nationality.”

He and his wife, Angella Henry, decided to commemorate the Polar Bears’ 80th anniversary with a garden in Alley/Waban Park honoring Ms. Hunter. It features a mix of annuals and perennials, some of which were donated by Toni Kauffman and the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club. Flat stepping stones are laid out to invite visitors, and a plaque honoring Ms. Hunter will be installed soon.

It felt like a fitting tribute to Ms. Hunter, who, like the group, turns 80 this year, the Henrys said.

“We’ve given too many of our elders in the Polar Bears their flowers in the water as they’ve transitioned,” Mr. Henry said. “We just felt like with Caroline, we weren’t going to let that happen.”

The garden was dedicated to Ms. Hunter on July 4, the first day of the Polar Bears’ 80th season. The dedication was accompanied by a concert from the Trumpet Chics, an off-Island group of musicians who became Polar Bears after a chance encounter with the group many years ago.

“There’s a big community of people around the world who would call themselves Inkwell Polar Bears, and we’re just happy to be a part of it,” Mr. Henry said.

For Ms. Hunter, empowering swimmers to make an impact on the world is part of each day’s goal. She likes to celebrate elected officials, poll workers and teachers, and she encourages swimmers to donate to Island food pantries.

“I preach in the water a little bit,” she said. “I say to people, this might be paradise for you, but it’s not paradise for everybody. We have homeless and hungry people here.”

There’s a version of a Mark Twain quote Ms. Hunter said encapsulates the pull of the Polar Bears: “Grief will take care of itself, but joy, when shared, is multiplied.”

Joy, multiplying boundlessly, is what keeps her in the water, facing the rising sun.

“It is the experience of going in the water with that group that makes you get up every day,” she said.

This article appears in July 31, 2026.