Saturday 25 July 2015

Swimming in Winter in Tassie. Are you mad !

Once again it's been awhile between posts as life gets in the way of recreational pursuits. We are happy to say we  did the Winter Solstice Swim in Hobart on the 22nd of June. The swim is on every year, it's part of the Dark Mofo Festival. What a buzz it was. There were around 800 people there for the swim with ages ranging from young 20's to the over 60's with newbies to seasoned regulars. It was one of the coldest days they have had for the swim with ice all over the ground and the temp hovering at 0.8 deg. Brrrrrrr. The water was cold too, I think they said it was 11 deg. The morning was so clear and beautiful as we watched the sun start to rise at Long Beach Sandy Bay while waiting for the start of the swim at 7.42 am.

Just arrived at the beach at the crack of dawn.


So what's the drill when you do the Dark Mofo Solstice Swim ? Well first of all you have to register for the swim (it's free) and then you will get an email back with a list of things about the swim. When you arrive at the beach on the morning of the swim you line up to get your large white towel and red swimming cap. You wait on the beach warming yourself around the various fire drums until they give the call to go and undress. There are a number of areas to undress both inside the boat shed and outside. After you undress and put the towel and cap on you once again assemble on the beach to wait. I have a couple tips to make this experience more comfortable. First of all make sure you have a pair of ugg boots or other footwear which is easy to get on and off, to keep your feet warm. You have no idea how cold that sand is at that time of the morning in Winter. Secondly I found that a coat over the top of the towel you are wearing was a great idea (more warmth while waiting). And thirdly do stand around one of the fire drums to keep warm while waiting or take a jog up the beach.
There are life savers at the beach who give you the low down on what to do while in the cold water. They also have a marked out area in the water to show you where to swim to. You don't have to swim out that far you can just go out and have a splash around if you want to at least you can say you've participated in the swim. Great fun.
Love the caps they give you.


Now for the swim itself. You will hear a call go out to line up then there was the sound of the big Buddhist drum beating and beating. This was great as it really got you pumped up and ready to go. Before you know it the call to go is out and the red flares are lit then there's a wave of people into the water followed by some screams, choice swear words and laughs as the cold hits them. So much fun. When you get out it's straight to the towel and fire drum or you can run back and get dressed.
 Us just after the swim.


We found it a great experience which stayed with you for the rest of the day. It was good to talk to some of the other participants as well. They came from all parts of Australia. The media had a section down one end of the beach which meant if you didn't want to appear on any photos etc. you avoided that area. I would recommend this swim, it was great fun and made you feel so alive. I would also recommend attending the Dark Mofo Festival, it was fantastic and a great idea to get people out at night and to Tassie in the middle of Winter. Next year we hope to get a group of us together to attend the swim.

Michelle

1 comment:

  1. looks like fun, interested in joining your group next time

    ReplyDelete