Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Swim4TheOcean - Wellington beckons
by Jodie Bakewell-White - Live Ocean Racing 17 Mar 17:39 PDT
Jono Ridler - The final push - Swim4TheOcean - March 17, 2026 © Joshua McCormack
After more than ten weeks in the water, ultra-distance swimmer Jono Ridler is entering the final and most difficult stretch of his extraordinary Swim4TheOcean world record attempt - pushing south through colder water, jellyfish stings and mounting fatigue as Wellington draws closer.
If weather conditions allow, Ridler could arrive in the capital in early April, bringing to a close his unprecedented, staged swim from Waikuku Beach at North Cape to Wellington, a journey anticipated to be roughly 1,350 kilometres down the North Island's entire east coast.
With the distance to go now well under 300 kilometres and closing quickly on the final 250km, the finish line is beginning to feel within reach.
But the final leg is proving physically and mentally demanding.
Sea temperatures have dropped around seven degrees since the Bay of Plenty, leaving Ridler battling daily cold exposure while swimming without a wetsuit. Jellyfish stings, salt tongue and accumulated fatigue are also taking their toll.
The rugged stretch of coastline south of Porangahau through to Cape Palliser and beyond means the land and water operations team supporting Ridler's Swim4TheOcean mission have their work cut out, with few places along the coast where they can safely bring him ashore.
The 36-year-old has now spent close to 380 hours in the ocean, logging around a million strokes as he attempts what is on track to become the world's longest unassisted staged ocean swim.
In a remarkable show of endurance, Ridler has just completed three consecutive days of heavy output - swimming twice a day and averaging around 26 kilometres daily, for an astonishing total of around 80 kilometres. At this stage of the journey, the effort is nothing short of extraordinary.
Despite the physical toll, Ridler says the challenge is increasingly mental.
"My body's pretty good overall. It's been able to adapt to the load after ten weeks of doing this thing," he said.
"My mind fluctuates for sure. Sometimes I'm in a really good space. Sometimes it's hard to pull it into a good space and I'm trying to do that as best as possible.
There's a lot of mental self-talk to get myself through some of the days we're facing at the moment."
Throughout the journey the team has faced a constant stream of challenges - weather systems, adverse currents and sheer fatigue.
"There's been so many different things we've had to deal with as we've gone," Ridler said.
"Physical issues, mindset, conditions, adverse currents, mechanical issues with boats and equipment - and just keeping on going when you don't necessarily want to. When you're tired, sore and fatigued, you've still got to get out there and keep moving."
The final stretch will likely deliver more of the same.
"I think we'll have a bit of everything really," he said.
"It's quite calm right now, and we've got a nice little weather window, so we're taking advantage of that. But we could get some pretty rough weather as well. We're just going to have to take it as it comes.
Cold water is now a major challenge.
"The water temperature has dropped considerably - about seven degrees since its peak a month or so ago in the Bay of Plenty," Ridler said.
"I'm not wearing a wetsuit, so I'm fully exposed to the water temperature. I'm dealing with low levels of hypothermia every single day at the moment. It's just another one of those things we have to deal with."
Jellyfish encounters are also increasing as he heads further south.
"This morning's session was pretty bad," he said.
"For the first hour, I was repeatedly being stung and dealing with the cold on top of that, already being fatigued and sore in my muscles. Those are some hard sessions to get through."
Yet the connections made throughout the mission so far continue to motivate him to keep swimming.
"The best moments of the journey so far have really been those connections we've had with people all down the coastline," Ridler said.
"Being able to understand where they're coming from and hear their passion for the ocean, that's been really uplifting."
Ridler says every kilometre is driven by the conversations he has had with coastal communities and the desire to see stronger protection for New Zealand's ocean.
As the finish line approaches, Blair Tuke, Live Ocean Co-Founder says the extraordinary endurance effort is helping build a national call for stronger ocean protection.
"What Jono is doing out there is remarkable. The level of determination he's shown every day since we cheered him off in the far north, gives me the confidence he will make it to Wellington. When he does, the swim might be finished, but the mission continues. He'll be bringing with him the voices of thousands of New Zealanders who want to see an end to bottom trawling."
For now, the focus remains simple: keep turning the arms over and keep heading south.
Key facts - Swim4TheOcean (on 18 March)
- Total distance swum: 1108.2km
- Distance remaining: 258.8km
- Total hours swum: Close to 380 hours
- Start: Waikuku Beach, North Cape - 5 January 2026
- Finish target: Wellington Early April 2026
New Zealanders can track Swim4TheOcean live and add their name to the call to end bottom trawling at www.swim4theocean.org
Swim4TheOcean is backed by Platinum sponsor TMNZ alongside supporting swim sponsors including APL, Forsyth Barr, Generate KiwiSaver, and StabiX.
Follow the mission at www.Swim4TheOcean.org and on Live Ocean's channels @itsliveocean.
View at www.Swim4TheOcean.org
Embed code www.predictwind.com/live-ocean/media
Website: liveocean.org/swim4theocean Follow Jono's progress on the live tracker.