Three Mortanites braved the icy waters of the Illinois River New Year’s Day wearing nothing more than blue body paint and a pair of shorts.

“We’re only half-blue now,” said Mike Miller, 53, of Morton, after exiting the water at the ninth annual Polar Ice Plunge. “It’s cold, but so what?”

Partaking in the plunge every year since its beginnings, this year the trio chose the theme of the Blue Man Group, said Stuart Schroeder, 49, of Morton.

“It goes to a good cause,” Schroeder said. “It was great.”

“The water’s warmer than the air,” added the final blue man, Bill Kenney, 55, of Morton.

They may seem a bit nuts, but 350 jumpers — 10 more than last year — took the plunge into the frigid 36-degree water at the East Peoria Boat Club, said Janice Maimberg, chairwoman of the plunge.

Body paint, skimpy suits and men in dresses were among the unique styles that went into the river.

At $20 a person, all proceeds went toward local children charities, such as the Dream Factory and South Side Mission’s Camp Kearney, said Maimberg. In total, they have donated more than $56,000 to charity since the start of the plunge.

“It gets bigger and bigger each year,” Maimberg said. “It’s a good feeling.”

Also going into the water with homemade outfits were Rebekah Minter, 18, of East Peoria, Tim Brown, 18, of East Peoria and Joe Phipps, 17, of Minooka.

With outfits made out of neon duct tape, the trio said they partake in the plunge for the thrill.

 “I keep telling myself it’s not cold out,” Brown said. “It’s a tradition for us to start out the New Year.”

“We always do crazy stuff,” Phipps added.

Not everyone enjoyed the breathtaking cold, however.

Leslie Babcock, 43, of Dunlap, said she tried the plunge for the first time as a team builder with her son, David Babcock, 16, and husband, Ed Babcock, 43.

“That was crazy,” said Leslie Babcock, as she tried to catch her breath. “One time, and we’re done. We’ll have to get our thrills elsewhere.”

With temperatures close to zero and frozen chunks of ice surrounding the water, the plungers’ safety was a concern.

Like in previous years, five members of the Peoria County Dive Team were on hand to look for potential problems, such as dangerous obstacles in the water.

“We do a quick visual of those coming in,” said dive team member Ed Feldshau, of East Peoria. “This is pretty clear water here. And before they get started, we walk around (in the water.)”

Everything went according to plan, said Feldshau, who stayed in the water for the entire 30 minutes of the plunge, about 15 minutes shorter than last year’s plunge.

“Last year, I froze,” he said.