The Winter Soltice occured at 17h16 UTC on the 21st June 2011.

In Maritime Tradition it is customary to celebrate the Winter Solstice in port, by jumping off the bow of your ship and swimming to the transom or stern. In naval terms this works out as a distance of about 75 metres.
The Waterfront wishes to start a tradition in the Marina Canal, by hosting a 50 metre swim on 22 June 2011. To facilitate those that work, the start time is staggered as 16h30, 17h00, 17h30 and 18h00. The swim is conducted in a speedo costume, and the only prize is a cup of coffee or cocoa, and an opportunity for you to write your name in the “Duty Officer’s Register”
As one off the regular people that use the Canal at the Waterfront for work or play, please find below all the details, and you are invited at your own risk to enjoy this age old tradition, with good shipmates.

The following organisations have been invited: V&A Waterfront Staff, The Marina Residents, The Canoe Polo Club, The Dragon Boat Club, Atlatech Divers, DRC Diving, Cape Diving, The SUP Guys, The Cape Long Distance Swimmers, The V&A Charter Boat Companies, Cape Long Distance Swimming Association, The Two Oceans Aquarium, ATC Multisport, Adventure Works, Open Water Kayaking,

"The winter solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet is farthest away from its star, depending on the polar hemisphere of reference. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our Sun during a solstice is 23° 26'. More evidently from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.[2] Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as midwinter, the longest night or the first day of winter.

The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice usually occurs on Dec. 21 or 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.[3]

Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time." reference ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice )