Dip of the month thrill for local men

Two take a plunge in the Delaware River once a month, every month.

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   In the “dip of the month club,” there are only two members.
   Their rules are pretty simple, but not so easy to follow.
   Once a month, every month, Jake Helminiak, 28, and Erik Silldorff, 38, take a dip in the Delaware River, fully immersing themselves. Heavy wetsuits are not allowed even in winter, although protective footwear is OK to prevent slipping and injury.
   Last week when the weather was cold and blustery with water and air temperatures both in the 30s, they took their December plunge wearing only their swim trunks.
   ”The river on Friday was frigid!” Mr. Helminiak said. “We kept the cars running for that one. It was actually our first official event after sundown, around 6:30 p.m. We had to make it happen before I left for holiday so after work on Friday became the only option. Not the coldest air or water temps that we have experienced, but once you get below a certain temperature, it’s all the same — exhilarating!”
   ”Anytime you go in the river, it sure does feel good,” Mr. Silldorff said. “It’s a real cathartic experience. It washes everything away. You feel energized.”
   In the colder months, Mr. Helminiak said, “Basically, we get into the river and then get out of the river.”
   ”When it’s really cold, we don’t last very long,” Mr. Silldorff said.
   He estimated their venture could last just a few seconds in winter months with a race to a heated car.
   ”The wind is what’s really bad,” he said. “It can be painful in the wind. It freezes your body when you get out.”
   Locations for their dip vary, ranging from Bull’s Island in Delaware Township to Trenton, depending on weather conditions and water levels. In the summer, they take a more leisurely swim and sometimes frequent a rope swing over the river north of Stockton.
   While the men enjoy it, their wives look askance at their club.
   ”There’s no chance in hell she’ll participate,” said Mr. Silldorff, an aquatic biologist with the Delaware River Basin Commission.
   ”I know for a fact that my wife thinks I am nuts,” said Mr. Helminiak, a water resources engineer employed by Princeton Hydro in Ringoes. “I would imagine Erik’s wife feels the same. And I guess it is a bit odd, and I suppose I do feel a bit crazy standing along the banks in just a pair of swim trunks during a snowy winter day.”
   ”If you grew up swimming in cold water, it isn’t a big deal,” Mr. Silldorff said. “I grew up in California, where the water is cold, and it didn’t matter what the temperature was.”
   Mr. Helminiak said, “I think it’s a great way to enjoy the river throughout the year and also a great way to see one of my friends at least once a month in a more than hectic schedule. As we continue, I also enjoy the sense of ‘hey, I bet no one else has been in the Delaware River once a month for the past two and a half plus years.”
   Mr. Silldorff said he has always had “a crazy draw toward the water.”
   He explained, “Anywhere I travel in the world, I feel like I have to get in it and experience it. Unless I’m in it, it feels like I’m only observing.”
   In California, he bodysurfed and rode a boogie board. After graduating from Cornell University in New York, he worked for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia for which he monitored the Delaware River in Belvidere.
   He said he was “blown away” by the aquatic insects, which can tell scientists the quality of the water. Aquatic insects became his specialty after graduate school in California. He has traveled throughout North America, including Mexico and Canada, and also traveled in France where his wife worked as a management consultant.
   Mr. Helminiak grew up on the west branch of the Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pa.
   ”The water quality of the Delaware is much better than what I was used to growing up,” he said. “There are several high quality streams where I grew up, but to have a bigger river that is as beautiful as the Delaware in this area is a treat.”
   The friends, who both reside in Doylestown, started their monthly dip about two and a half years ago, and they’ve never missed a month yet.
   It began with a lunchtime swim with that rope swing above Stockton when they were both employed by Princeton Hydro. They wondered why more people weren’t out fishing, boating and swimming.
   ”It’s underutilized,” Mr. Silldorff said. “We said we should be out there every month of the year. Then we kind of looked at each other. It was sort of one-upmanship, and we said, ‘I’ll do it if you’ll do it.’”
   Mr. Silldorff, who has three children ages 2, 4 and 6, said they are sensitive to safety issues and do not put themselves at risk.
   ”I’m not out there to be a daredevil,” he said. I’ll sacrifice this 2-year streak before I put myself in harm’s way. I’m as aware as anybody the river is extremely powerful. Your own personal strength is no match for the strength of the river.”