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Dark Mofo nude swimmers take the plunge for annual winter solstice dip

A record 1537 swimmers fronted a Sandy Bay beach on a Friday morning in 2018 for the annual event which began in 2013.

A record 1537 swimmers fronted a Sandy Bay beach on a Friday morning in 2018 for the annual event which began in 2013. Photo: ABC News

A record number of naked backsides have galloped down a Hobart beach into the water for the annual mad dash of Dark Mofo’s winter solstice nude swim.

With the air temperature hovering around 7 degrees Celsius, a record number of participants arrived in the dark to don red swimming caps supplied by organisers and steel themselves for the event, held annually as part of the Museum of Old and New Art’s (MONA) festival of the bizarre.

The stampede began at 7.42am, with waves of bodies throwing off the towels and heading towards the River Derwent, where a relatively tropical water temperature of around 14C awaited.

In 2017, just over 1000 people registered for the event, catching out organisers who had factored in a number of no-shows – resulting in too many bums and not enough towels.

This year more than 2200 signed up, with Dark Mofo learning the lesson of 2017, with plenty of linen on hand this morning at Long Beach in Sandy Bay.

Come crunch time, organisers said 1537 punters turned up to get wet –a new record.

The inaugural swim in 2013 was almost scuttled after police threatened to arrest participants for endangering public decency, with a senior police officer stating “whilst other people and other councils and other jurisdictions may have their own beliefs, here in Tasmania the fact is we are ensuring nobody is offended by this behaviour”.

Following support from the government, the event was back on, with the then-police minister explaining he had called on the parties to come together and find a way to allow the nude swim to proceed.

The swim coincides with similar events around the world marking the shortest day of the year, including a nude swim in Canberra.

As part of their long-running tradition, Antarctic expeditioners cut a hole in the ice near Casey research station, with 21 team members braving the water temperature of minus 2 degrees Celsius.

The early morning dip has gone on to become emblematic of the Dark Mofo festival, which has featured a number of performances that have challenged the public to examine their definition of art and performance .

MONA founder David Walsh said the controversies have been good for business, with widespread acceptance now allowing the festival to be instrumental in boosting tourism numbers to the island.

Dark Mofo runs until Sunday night and will culminate with an effigy of a giant cave spider carried aloft through the city centre and set alight at the end of the Ogoh-Ogoh parade.

-ABC

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