A towel shortage added an extra chill to a nude midwinter swim in Hobart’s Sandy Bay on Wednesday morning.
A total of 1,020 people turned up at dawn to mark the winter solstice with a quick dip in the Derwent river as part of the Dark Mofo arts festival. It might have felt warmer in than out though, with water temperature at a cool 14C while the air was 4C.
Sunrise at the @Dark_Mofo nude solstice swim #Hobart @Tasmania pic.twitter.com/IslyiIf3kw
— Monte Bovill (@montetuna) June 20, 2017
The event requires preregistration and usually supplies towels but the unprecedented number of attendees meant towels quickly ran out.
A Dark Mofo representative said they had more than 1,000 people register for this year’s event, but usually have a drop-off of about 500, so were expecting a turnout of 700.
Last year, more than 1,000 people registered for the event but rain meant that only 700 turned up.
This was the fifth nude solstice swim, which has been an annual ritual at the festival since the first Dark Mofo in 2013.
This year, participants plunged into the water to the sound of drums and cymbals played by the Holy Tantra Esoteric Buddhism community of Tasmania to celebrate the return of the light after the longest night.
Amazing #solsticeswim this #wintersolstice with old and new friends in Hobart for #DarkMOFO2017 pic.twitter.com/qxnAv9LwEM
— SriDewi (@missdemeanour69) June 20, 2017
Dark Mofo, which is put on by Mona, has been running in Hobart since 7 June. The solstice swim was one of the final events in this year’s program, which included appearances by Pussy Riot, a controversial bloody artwork by Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch, a seven-minute sound installation ringing out over Hobart at dawn and dusk every day, and the opening of the travelling Museum of Everything.
