This is the second and larger contingent of ‘Icebergers’ (the other being the Bath’s-based Icebergers), whose passion is open water swimming, which has its base 100m away at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC) located adjacent to the Baths.

Icebergers who swim out of RBYC cover a series of year-round open water courses ranging from ‘Morning Glory’ over 250m, ‘No Brainer’ over 1.5km and the ‘Big Course’ out to the Reef Marker is over 2km. Teabags are occasionally spotted ‘one quick dip and out’ but essentially those who swim here like distance and open water swimming.

An interloper Kiwi in the Club, Paul Percy, along with Aussie Legend John Olson has also introduced the ANZAC course which stretches the distance (and swimmers) via marker buoys to 5.4km.

Open Water swimming is never routine. Every day brings different sea conditions at Brighton – swells, currents, chop and winds. The power of nature is respected. Regularly joining the Icebergers on their swims are some resident penguins, bottle nosed dolphins and an elderly stingray who lives along the route of one of the swim courses.

The Brighton Icebergers welcome female swimmers, it has an active group of female swimmers headed up by Jane Zacharin and Melinda ‘the flying doctor’ Kemp.