{"id":369888,"date":"2026-06-22T06:56:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T06:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/369888\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T06:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T06:56:18","slug":"nude-swimmers-take-chilly-plunge-in-dark-mofo-solstice-swim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/369888\/","title":{"rendered":"Nude swimmers take chilly plunge in Dark Mofo solstice swim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hobart’s coldest morning so far this year has not deterred swimmers from stripping off to their birthday suits and making a splash at Long Beach for the annual Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The air temperature just before sunrise was 4 degrees Celsius, while the water temperature was 12C.<\/p>\n

\"Crowd<\/p>\n

When the nude swim was first proposed in 2013, Tasmania Police vehemently opposed the event and threatened to arrest for public indecency. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

\"Crowd<\/p>\n

Swimmers brace to take to the water for the 2026 Nude Solstice Swim. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The nude swim was held at dawn after the shortest day in 2026. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Urshla Connor, however, said the apparent temperature was -1C.<\/p>\n

“Perfect conditions for the swim,” Ms Connor told 936 ABC Hobart.<\/p>\n

Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n

Tasmanian Margie Clougher, 96, said she had been doing the swim every year.<\/p>\n

She said there was “a wonderful feeling of euphoria afterwards”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Margie Clougher, second from left, takes part in the swim each year. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

Jessica Nuel from France said she did the swim for the first time last year and returned again this year.<\/p>\n

“It’s an amazing experience,” Ms Nuel said.<\/p>\n

“The adrenaline of it, everyone [has] a big smile and it’s a celebration of being all together.”\"Jessica<\/p>\n

Jessica Nuel, from France, said she did the Nude Solstice Swim for the first time last year and returned again this year. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

The swim is the final event on the two-week Dark Mofo arts festival program.<\/p>\n

When it was first proposed in 2013, Tasmania Police were opposed the event and threatened to arrest<\/a> for public indecency the 200 people who had registered.<\/p>\n

\"Naked<\/p>\n

The Nude Solstice Swim celebrates the passing of the longest night. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

\"Naked<\/p>\n

It was a chilly start to the morning for many. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

Hobart’s Dougal McLauchlan said this year’s swim was his eighth.<\/p>\n

\"Dougal<\/p>\n

Dougal McLauchlan says it “doesn’t take [him] too much to get nude”. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

“It was so good, so invigorating,” Mr McLauchlan said.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t take me too much to get nude but with 3,000 other people it’s so much better and the water is just so great.<\/p>\n

“And it’s a great way to finish the festival \u2014 it’s been a great two weeks. It’s such a magnificent time here.”<\/p>\n

\"Crowd<\/p>\n

The Nude Solstice Swim marks the end of the annual Dark Mofo festival. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

\"Crowd<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Nude Solstice Swim marks the end of the annual Dark Mofo festival. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

\"Groups<\/p>\n

The 3,000 ticket allocation was exhausted quickly. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

Eight years ago, Pauline Askin and three of her friends made the trip to Hobart from Sydney for the swim.<\/p>\n

Ms Askin said the swim was now a pilgrimage for the four women, who have returned each year since.<\/p>\n

“Because we’re familiar with it now, it’s the most natural thing in the world to drop [the towel] and run [into the water] with everybody,” she said.<\/p>\n

“And just the buzz \u2014 you feel electric.”\"four<\/p>\n

Pauline Askin, a lady in a towel with three other ladies. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

Organisers said 3,000 people registered for the swim.<\/p>\n

For Sydney couple David Thorburn and Kurt Brinschwitz, this year’s swim was their first.<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

Sydney couple Kurt Brinschwitz (left) and David Thorburn swam at the 2026 Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

“My hubby, he’s been wanting to do this for a long time and last year we were watching it on TV and he said, ‘I’d like to go’, so here we are,” Mr Thorburn said.<\/p>\n

“I was very apprehensive about it \u2026 but it was great, very exciting.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Nude Solstice Swim marks the end of the annual Dark Mofo festival. (ABC News: Sophie Jaggers)<\/p>\n

Mr Brinschwitz said the swim was “very liberating”.<\/p>\n

Today is the winter solstice in Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

Today is the shortest day of the year in Australia, but not the one with the latest sunrise or coldest weather. Here’s why.<\/p>\n

“It was warmer than I was expecting, actually. It was actually quite pleasant once you get over the initial shock,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It just felt like a real sense of community, just a real nice shared experience.”<\/p>\n

A group of swimmers from Queensland who arrived dressed as frogs said they had been coming for a few years.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

A group from Queensland, dressed as frogs, come annually to the event. (ABC News: Jessica Moran)<\/p>\n

Their tips for first timers were:<\/p>\n

“Be brave, just embrace it. Drink schnapps. Drink schnapps beforehand and after,” they said.\"A<\/p>\n

The Nude Solstice Swim marks the end of the festival program for another year. (ABC News: Michael Della-Fontana)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hobart’s coldest morning so far this year has not deterred swimmers from stripping off to their birthday suits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[149949,149950,131,133,132,149953,149948,61466,149952,149951,56629],"class_list":["post-369888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-dark-mofo","tag-dark-mofo-nude-swim","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-mona","tag-nude-swim","tag-swim","tag-tas","tag-tasmania","tag-winter-solstice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}