Qualicum Beach's Ronald Laidman recently plunged into ice-cold water to mark a new year for the 45th time.

He started the tradition on Jan. 1, 1980 on the sands of English Bay, according to a submission to the PQB News.

Laidman maintains his tradition regardless of rain, sleet and snow.

"I was told early on in our relationship back in 2008 never to plan any trips away on New Year's Day," Diane Moran wrote in her email to The News.

The vast majority of the swims took place at English Bay. The couple moved to Vancouver Island in 2018.

To mark the occasion of the 100th Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver in 2019, Laidman made the trip on his own.

The pandemic did not dampen his desire to continue his tradition on the Island, with Laidman wading into frigid waters in at Whiffin Spit in Sooke, Sunny Beach and more recently the community park beach in Parksville.