In the depths of winter, these swimmers plunge into icy waters in search of ‘stillness’

It’s just before 7:00am at Blackmans Bay beach, a 20-minute drive south of Hobart.

Locals are exercising and a couple perform tai chi on the water’s edge facing the fast-rising sun.

Bronwen Puleston-Jones walks from the car park to the beach, goggles, swimming cap and towel in hand, ready for her ocean swim.

It’s a ritual she has performed almost every day for more than a decade, and one that has become a necessity.

“Swimming is the only thing I find that will calm the mind,” she says.

“When you’re really struggling and nothing else will shift things, it’s just such an incredible release.”

Puleston-Jones was always destined to have a close relationship…