The man in swimming trunks who has just emerged from the water does not appear to have taken a dip in the winter cold for the first time. “Nice, fresh morning,” he says matter-of-factly. “Get out of bed, take a dip and then enjoy Christmas.”
The other beachgoers were dressed warmly. “You know it’s winter and it’s cold, but it’s beautiful Christmas weather,” says one of them. “A little snow would have been nice. But we just don’t have that.”