In the 1980’s when John Locco, the prime mover in the preservation of the Middle Brighton Baths and environs began swimming around the Brighton pier with his great mate Robert Hooper, little did he envisage how the number of swimmers would grow, events multiply and sorties undertaken to compete in ocean swims around Australia and the Globe.

Brighton Icebergers have swum all over Australia, San Francisco, (annual Alcatraz Swim), across to New Zealand’s Lake Taupo, Lake Zurich, English Channel and even conquered the challenging and treacherous rip swim across the entrance to Port Phillip Bay.

The Brighton Icebergers, with much history behind them, have access to two great facilities for year-round swimming (the other being the Brighton Icebergers RBYC group based out of the Royal Brighton Yacht Club).

For those who enjoy the shorter distances and questionable security of an enclosed steel fence (stingrays and occasional jellyfish still gate crash), there is the historic Middle Brighton Sea Baths. Jutting out into the bay for approx 100m and 50m wide the original structure opened in 1881.