Peel New Year’s Dip celebrates its 40th anniversary on Sunday.

It started off on January 1, 1983, with just four dippers - Chris Hall, Chris Watterson, Lynn Walker and David Eames – who raised £50 for Multiple Sclerosis Isle of Man.

Since then, the event has really grown and now sees hundreds of dippers take to the water on New Year’s Day, in the process raising more than £200,000 for charities.

Chris Watterson, 64, has taken part in every dip. Even a stay at Noble’s Hospital didn’t stop him.

His daughter, Lianne, told Island Life:‘In 2020 unfortunately Dad had some complications following hip surgery and was unable to get out of hospital, so Roy Baker took some Peel Bay water in a water bottle and improvised so he didn’t miss the dip!’

Perhaps, surprisingly, given his 100% attendance record, Lianne explains Chris didn’t actually intend on being involved with the first dip and it came about after meeting up with his friends in the pub on New Year’s Eve.

She said he was known for turning up late, then heading for a shower at the Sailing Club before enjoying some drinks in Peel. The dip is now very much a Watterson family tradition.

For the 40th anniversary dip, Chris, his four children – Gemma, Lianne, Aaron and Caitlin, some of his grandchildren and step-grandchildren Kiara, Aaliee, Kadie, Abi, Lucas and Ella, his nieces and nephews, Dean, Craig, Kym plus numerous partners and friends, will all be taking part.

The youngest is Chris’s granddaughter Ella Venables, five. This will be her sixth dip – she first went in when she was just six weeks old!

Lianne said: ‘Most of us do this every year when able, there will always be around 10 Wattys in any one year.’

In 2012, the family went several dips further than usual. They completed five dips – Peel, three southern ones and back to Peel – raising about £2,000 for The Friends of Robert Owen House and Noble’s Hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation unit.

Explaining what the event means to Chris and the family, she said: ‘For Peel, it’s a fantastic day that generates a good amount of money for charity. Christine Eames, the Green family, John Teare, Jackie Horne and the lifeboat crew all give up a huge amount of time to support this and have made everything work in the background.

‘All he does is turn up, late, in speedos usually and jump in the sea!’

Jacqui Green, who ran Green’s the jewellers in Michael Street with her husband Keith for 35 years until closing in June last year, has been organising the Peel dip for the last 20 years.

Her role involves everything from making up the hundreds of medals that are handed out to all of the dippers to promoting the event.

‘It takes up an awful lot of time,’ she admitted.

On the day itself, she helps to clear the beach of stones and debris, is on the signing-in desk outside Peel Sailing Club, and then enters the sea to keep an eye on the proceedings.

Jacqui said the most memorable year was when heavy rain meant she needed a hot shower to warm up when she got back home – and she had to hang up the notes received in donations to dry out.

‘We were absolutely drowned,’ she said.

The event is a big community effort and as Jacqui, says, it’s the people that make it what it is.

Other dedicated dippers include Nigel Rawlinson, who has only missed a few - and is always dressed as Elvis.

Trudy Crowe has been serving up hot home-made soup - tomato or chicken to dippers for at least 20 years.

Eric Kelly adds to the atmosphere, playing the organ, which is plugged into the sailing club.

CTH Insurance has been paying the cost of the insurance needed for as long as Jacqui can remember.

Jacqui was keen to mention other people who have played a big role in the successful running of the dip over the years.

She described Johnny Teare as a ‘big helper’ between 1989 until he had to stop a few years ago.

And she paid tribute to Helen Brown, who worked at Green’s for 25 years and got involved with organising the dip. She died in February.

‘She was absolutely wonderful,’ Jacqui said.

Since then, Stuart Blackley has played a bigger role in the dip’s organisation. On the day, you will find him on the mic. Stuart said: ‘About 2,500 people watch it. It’s weird because at about 11am, there’s nobody on the prom and at 11.15am there’s 2,500 people and at 12.05pm, there is nobody. Masses of people come to watch and then they all go.’

The first three dips were in aid of MS Isle of Man, then in 1987, Peel RNLI was added as a beneficiary. A third charity, which changes each year, was then added. The sum of £100 is given to St John Ambulance.

The dips alone have raised more than £200,000, and including the coffee morning held in March each year, it brings the total to more than £250,000. It’s the huge fundraising total that is important to Jacqui.

And she added: ‘We will carry on for as long as we can – for as long as people keep coming.’

But she said she would like to see some younger people getting involved in organising the event.

Organisers are confident that the Peel Dip will continue to go from strength to strength and will be making a big splash when it clocks up its half century in 10 years’ time.