Thousands of hardy souls have donned a red cap and dropped their towels for a near-freezing naked Hobart swim to mark the winter solstice.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Screams filled the air at 7.42am on Thursday at Long Beach, with the nippy event also signalling the end of the 10th Dark Mofo festival.
The air temperature dropped to a chilly 3C overnight, with the "feels like" conditions below zero.
David Chadbone and partner Sharon Biggs made the trip from Brisbane, initially missing out on tickets for the River Derwent plunge before getting lucky with a second chance registration.
"Originally I didn't want to but I got on board pretty quickly," Mr Chadbone said.
"I told all my mates I was going to do it, so I couldn't back out.
"The coldest water I'd ever swum in was 22C before this. It was kind of scarily cold.
"I went numb pretty quickly (but) everyone was so upbeat, so you don't feel it as badly.
"But then all you think about is how you can get out and get warm."
Ms Biggs said she felt exhilarated and refreshed after paddling out to a buoy.
"(I thought) it would be a good personal challenge. I ticked a bucket-list thing," she said.
Much further south, excavators were used to cut through sea ice so Australia's Antarctic expeditioners could have their own solstice dip.
Casey research station leader Ben Patrick said it was a special moment at a time of the year when the frozen continent only got about two and a half hours of sunlight per day.
All swims were conducted under medical supervision with safety equipment and a warm towel close at hand.
"It's about minus 20C, there is not a breath of wind," Mr Patrick said.
"Why do we do it? None of us really know.
"It's invigorating. It's an absolutely amazing way to spend (the) midwinter day."
The winter solstice swim marks the passing of the longest night of the year.
The maiden Dark Mofo swim in 2013 attracted some 230 people and was initially cancelled by police on the basis that stripping off could break the law.
It has grown considerably in popularity and is capped at around 2000 entrants.
Amanda Bailey, Courtney May Robertson and Audrey Merilus, who performed the dance-, stunt-, motocross- and bodily fluid-filled A Divine Comedy at Dark Mofo, also jumped in.
"We went in (the water) twice. Once wasn't enough," Bailey said.
It is the final festival for inaugural artistic director Leigh Carmichael before he hands the reins to Chris Twite, who has worked with the Sydney Festival and Falls Festival.
The festival and the swim were called off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Associated Press
