Boogie boarding group celebrates the new year with a penguin plunge

Members of a local boogie boarding group gathered together at Fletcher Cove Jan. 1 to welcome the new year with a plunge into the Pacific Ocean.

Two longtime Solana Beach residents started a boogie boarding group years ago that initially consisted of only about six members. The group has since grown to more than 100 women who are on an email list that receives details each week about meeting times.

“I do it because jumping waves in the ocean is the best stress buster, because the salty, cold water is invigorating and because it is so much more fun with others,” said Solana Beach resident Fran Dyer, one of the group’s founders, in a recent story published in this newspaper.

Dyer and Solana Beach resident Christa Stahl, a co-founder of the group, were members of the Newcomers Club of San Dieguito when they decided to leave the Monday meetings and go boogie boarding at Fletcher Cove.

She said the age range of the women in the group is about 55 to 96, including many retirees, and added that she is “shocked” it has gained so many members over the years. Some husbands have been joining too.

For more information about the group, email Dyer at slcfran@aol.com with the subject “BOOGIE BOARDING!”

Photos by Jon Clark