May Dip (teaser)

The May Dip is yet another St Andrews tradition that sounds insane and life-threatening, but is strangely sanctioned (or at least not shut down by) the university. Did we blog about Raisin Weekend? I know I've mentioned it to some of you, but it was the same weekend as the infamous Welly Ball, so it may have been lost in the shuffle. Raisin Weekend is essentially a weekend long party, where first years officially are "adopted" by academic parents. Hazing and debauchery ensue. You can read more about the madness here, since it would take a lengthy blog post to get into the particulars.

Besides, it's not November and I'm trying to talk about the May Dip. What's that?

THE TRADITION - At sunrise on the 1st of May, hundreds if not thousands of students hurl themselves into the bracing north sea.

WHY? - Legend has it that if you are foolish enough to step on Patrick Hamilton's initials outside Sallies Chapel, you will fail your degree. The only way to redeem your academic career is to jump into the sea at dawn on May 1st.

WHERE? - Castle Sands

WHEN? - This year, first light is at 04:39, and the sun rises at 05:22 The tide will be at its highest just before 5, so the beach may be quite crowded, but there will be plenty of room in the water.

WHAT TO BRING? - A towel, loads of warm clothes and some old shoes if you want to protect your feet from the sharp rocks under the water. Also, an element of bravery wouldn't go amiss - it's pretty cold in the North Sea!

I stole that synopsis from here, but it's pretty accurate. What they don't mention, however, is that everyone stays up all night drinking before this happens, so the only "bravery" exhibited comes from the excessive amount of alcohol people have consumed. Once the pubs close, people either go to flats or head straight to the beach, where the party continues right up until sunrise.

We skipped the partying all night aspect, and the jumping in freezing water bit (for obvious reasons), but we did get up at 5 am and head down to watch everyone else. The police had shut down Castle Sands by the time we got there (the rumor was that someone had a seizure, but it's possible it was just too crowded at high tide) so we headed over to the East Sands to document the overflow. Hopefully, Matt will get his pictures and video up here soon so you can check out the incredible drunk (and naked) people running into freezing water at dawn. It was quite the experience, and I'm pretty glad postgrads are exempt from academic "sins" (such as stepping on the PH initials) so any future participation is purely up to us (or the amount of alcohol we choose to consume on April 30th).