The 12th edition of the Bain de Noel tool place Saturday morning at 10 am. Organised annually by the Association les Amis du Bain de Noël de Monaco, money raised is donated to a different association each year.

For 2016, the fundraising dip was in aid of Association Monégasque de Vol à Voile, which was founded in 2014 by Anthony Roustan, an aeronautic enthusiast born in Monaco. Vol à Voile offers sick children or persons with disabilities a chance to escape their daily lives by flying with an instructor, and this year they had two outings.

This year’s Bain de Noel at Larvotto’s Rose des Vents beach was partnered with Amade Monaco, the association started in 1966 by Princess Grace, which will double the funds raised for Vol à Voile today to help orchestrate more opportunities for children to fly in the months to come.

Some 150 people participated in the traditional Christmas swim this morning. On-site registration, €10, included a raffle ticket, croissants and coffee.

It was a highly convivial pre-Christmas gathering.