"Proving that nothing succeeds like excess, 111 Los Gatos skinny-dippers crowded into a pool on Saturday to go boldly where few naked people have gone before: the Guinness book of world records.

Pudgy, slender, tanned, pale, firm and droopy — sharing only sunscreen — the happy crowd cheered for official eyewitnesses, who took a photo to submit proof for the history books.

"We're all here because we're dedicated to acceptance and mutual respect," said Lupin Lodge owner Glyn Stout, 72, who removed his hearing aids to jump into the water.

Then they celebrated with a picnic of barbecued ribs, corn and apple pie. Only the cook, perhaps nervous about hot coals, wore a shirt.

Lupin was one of dozens of clubs, camps and beaches across America that participated in the event, coordinated by the American Association for Nude Recreation, that capped the end of Nude Recreation Week, July 5-11.

Rules were exacting: To be counted, participants had to be nude in an American Association for Nude Recreation-sanctioned site at exactly noon ("Pacific Naked Time"). An estimated 100 groups participated, from steamy Decatur, Texas, to goose-bumpy British Columbia.

Los Gatos hills

It's a new tradition for the historic Lupin, the oldest member of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce in a rural part of town called Aldercroft Heights. Built on the remnants of a pre-Prohibition winery, it sits in a deep crease of the Los Gatos hills, bathed in sunshine and shielded from view.

It's easy to assume that nudists are just exhibitionists with iPods. But nothing could be further from the truth, they say. Many just want to play tennis without annoying shorts. Or ride home on a motorcycle without a wet swimsuit.

There's a Needlepoint Club. Children gambol the grounds. On Fridays, ladies meet for lunch.

Erudite, its members gather for book clubs, field trips and meals. While reading John Steinbeck, for instance, they donned clothes to tour Salinas. Discussions of the book "Shanghai Girls" featured Chinese carryout.

"It's my chosen family," said Ardis Williams, 70.

Said Cindy Gregory, with red hair and pink sunglasses: "No one's perfect, but it doesn't matter. We're all here because this is a place for the whole human being."

Fit, tanned and the father of 8-year-old twins, owner Stout is a Yale man whose classmates included Porter Goss, John Negroponte and "Bucky" Bush. He has worked hard to improve the club, moving boulders and yanking out weeds.

He's an open-minded guy. But he has one strict rule: No open fires.