The midwinter swim

So, Saturday is the shortest day of the year. And how best to celebrate the winter solstice than to start the day with a dawn swim. Its a bit of a tradition worldwide, though usually practiced in places that are substantially colder in midwinter: like to the point of having ice around. In Finland, swimming in midwinter is standard practice, though usually done in conjunction with sauna. But I digress.

Doug Jones (aka Junior) has organized the swim. Doug is a very fit 76 yr old, retired policeman and AFL player. Sunrise is 6:35am, so a few hardy souls meet at Canoe Point ten minutes early. One minor problem: the tide is way out so there is no water. We have a short trek up the beach to where there is a bit of sand and sea water. We leap in just as the sun is peeking above the horizon. The water is surprisingly warm, it has been clear and light winds for a few days. We stay in long enough for the sun to get above the horizon and out to warm up and drink some coffee.

A winter dawn swim is a bit of an anomaly here (only halfminds seem to participate), though you can swim year around in the warmth of the day. But surprisingly the beach is deserted, even on weekends. Children are playing video games or going to the pictures.

And that probably explains why Australia now ranks number one in the world in obesity rates.