Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - One epic month and one third done in Ridler's Swim4TheOcean
by Jodie Bakewell-White - Live Ocean Racing 5 Feb 02:15 PST
Jono Ridler - Swim4TheOcean - February 4, 2026 © Joshua Mccormack
One month on from wading into the surf at Waikuku Beach North Cape on 5 January Jono Ridler has knocked off 493km of his Swim4TheOcean and completed more than a third of the total projected distance to Wellington.
He’s faced nausea, salt tongue, mouth ulcers and a wrist niggle that saw him swimming with a closed fist for a leg. The first month of Swim4TheOcean has provided a bit of everything - from a challenging, remote beach start at Waikuku - post-storm swell, and choppy murky water around Tutukaka – to a glassy calm, current assisted ‘magic carpet’ swim at the tip of the Coromandel.
Yesterday Ridler put in one of his strongest days yet logging around ten hours and 30kms starting north of Whiritoa, swimming inside Tuhua Mare Island, beyond Waihi Beach and Bowentown to finish just before 9pm.
With the live tracker showing 894kms distance to go, Ridler continues to push south with determination, typically swimming two legs, and up to ten hours each day, aiming to reach Wellington in late March or early April. After relentless back-to-back swim shifts, pre-dawn starts and late evening finishes Ridler says he’s got niggles but overall is doing well and feeling energised about the momentum building around Swim4TheOcean.
The ultra-distance swimmer is attempting a world-record unassisted staged swim and has already spent more than 166 hours swimming, across 43 swim legs, each time marking the GPS location and returning there for the start of the next leg.
Ridler’s Swim4TheOcean is in partnership with Live Ocean, the marine conservation charity founded by champion sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Both have been on the water and at stopovers showing support for Ridler and encouraging people to follow Jono’s progress and to sign the call to end bottom trawling.
Coming ashore between swims in coastal communities along the route, Ridler had conversations with people closely connected to the ocean; “I keep hearing time and time again how surprised people are that we’re still bottom trawling in New Zealand - and bottom trawling on seamounts.”
“One trawl could take minutes, and it can take centuries for those ecosystems to recover. To me that kind of damage and lack of foresight is just mind blowing - that we’re still doing that and that we’re allowing it.”
More than 9,000 people have signed the call to end bottom trawling which asks the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts – at home and in the high seas by the end of 2027 – and to activate a quick transition away from bottom trawling entirely.
Key swim facts:
Distance swum: 493km (The equivalent of nearly 19 Cook Strait crossings)
Number of swim legs: 43
Time in the water: 166 hours 37 minutes
Swim4TheOcean’s next planned community stopover is today at Omanu Surf Life Saving Club, Mount Maunganui at 4pm tomorrow Thursday 5 February where the community will have an opportunity to meet and shake hands with Ridler, and to sign the call for action.
Yesterday’s swims – at a glance
- Swim1 started at 6:08am
- Time: 4 hours 59 mins
- Distance: 14.2 km
- Average speed: 2.8 km/h
- Swim2 started at 3:51pm
- Time: 4 hours 54 mins
- Distance: 15.5km
- Average speed: 3.2km/h
People can follow the swim via live tracker and sign the call for an end to bottom trawling at swim4theocean.org
You can follow the swim via live tracker and sign the call for an end to bottom trawling at swim4theocean.org
About Swim4TheOcean
Jono Ridler, a 36-year-old from Auckland, is attempting to go further than anyone has before in an unassisted staged swim, using his epic effort to shine a light on ocean health.
Ridler is partnering with Live Ocean, the marine conservation charity founded by champion sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. As Ridler pushes south, he will carry a clear message to decision makers: it’s time for New Zealand to make a quick transition away from bottom trawling, with the first priority being an end to bottom trawling on seamounts and other vital marine ecosystems.
More than 120 rest stops (between swim shifts), and community stopovers are planned along the route, giving coastal towns the chance to welcome Ridler ashore and show their support for a healthy ocean.
The term ‘unassisted’ is significant in Ridler’s world-record attempt. Defined by the Marathon Swimmers Federation, it means he swims without a wetsuit - wearing only togs, goggles and a swim cap.
Swim4TheOcean is backed by Platinum sponsor TMNZ alongside supporting swim sponsors including APL, Forsyth Barr, Generate KiwiSaver, and StabiX.
Follow the mission at Swim4TheOcean.org and on Live Ocean’s channels @itsliveocean.
View at www.Swim4TheOcean.org
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Website: liveocean.org/swim4theocean Follow Jono's progress on the live tracker.
The Swim4TheOcean project is heavily reliant on PredictWind for forecasting of both weather and currents as well as data transmission on progress using a PredictWind Datahub.
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