Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Swim4TheOcean - Wellington arrival dates

Jono Ridler - The final push - Swim4TheOcean - March 24, 2026 © Joshua McCormack

Jono Ridler has broken through the 150km-to-go mark in his 1,350km Swim4TheOcean mission and is now potentially just days away from reaching Wellington

He could arrive in Poneke, Wellington as early as Wednesday 1 April but swell and weather systems along the exposed lower Wairarapa coastline and notorious Cook Strait will play a defining role, with the team taking a day-by-day approach to the final stretch.

Ridler has now completed 1,235km of the journey, the equivalent of around 48 Cook Strait crossings or 37 English Channel swims and has spent more than 420 hours in the ocean.

Pushing south from Akitio on Sunday morning, he has banked six swims in three days, covering 83 kilometres as he builds momentum, now into the business end of the mission.

There’s a clear shift in intensity. With the finish now within reach, Ridler is swimming hard and has made good ground, helped by current and tail winds.

However, water temperatures dropped as low as 14.78°C today, and Ridler - swimming without a wetsuit to comply with the ‘unassisted’ rule - is spending long hours fully exposed, managing the constant risk of hypothermia. At these temperatures, slowing down isn’t an option.

On-water operations lead Andy Tuke says the team is closely tracking a dynamic forecast as they approach the most exposed section of coastline.

“Today we’ve got a nice little northeasterly, about 15 knots. Good for swimming,” said Tuke. “Tomorrow looks similar, but by Thursday the breeze picks up, and the swell starts to build. Friday’s looking like a big 3-metre-plus swell, so likely no swimming at all.

“We’ll look to get something in early Thursday before it builds, and then we’ll be watching it closely. It’s all about finding the windows and making the most of them.” Beyond the immediate forecast, the team is also factoring in longer-range systems as they prepare to round Cape Palliser on the southernmost corner of Te Ika-a-Maui, the North Island, enter Cook Strait and track a route towards the entrance to Wellington Harbour.

“We’ve got some nor’westers coming through early next week as well,” said Tuke. “If that sets in, it makes it very difficult down there, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on it and trying to sneak through when we can.”

Despite the conditions ahead, Ridler continues to push his limits.

Today the ultra-distance swimmer spent eight and a half hours in the water across an 11-hour window, indicating how recovery time between swims is now tight, often leaving little more than an hour ashore once transit time is factored in.

“By the time we got back to the beach, it was only about an hour on dry land before we’re getting back out again,” said Ridler.

Asked how he felt on the way back out, he said; “Pretty good. Good enough to keep going. That’s the main thing.”

As he tracks past iconic points like Castlepoint Lighthouse and Riversdale, coastal communities have turned out in support, showing up to catch a glimpse of the swimmer and cheer him on.

Tuke said the toll of the cold is becoming more apparent as the mission progresses.

“Jono was pretty cold at the end of that last swim,” he said speaking about Monday. “But even coming in, with a crowd on the beach, he still took the time to say hi and acknowledge everyone. Then we got him warmed up as quickly as we could.”

Ridler will complete his unassisted, staged swim in central Wellington, with the exact finish location to be confirmed.

But the mission has always been about more than the distance.

As he closes in on the capital, Ridler is carrying a clear message to decision makers: commit to ending bottom trawling - a destructive fishing practice still used in New Zealand waters and on the high seas.

With momentum building across the country, supporters are being urged to add their names to the call. While he’s still swimming, there is still time to sign.

Follow the tracker at swim4theocean.org and stay tuned to @itsliveocean for real-time updates as Ridler pushes towards Wellington.

Key facts – Swim4TheOcean (on 24 March)

• Signatures: 38,190
• Distance remaining: 129.46km
• Total distance swum: 1,235.86km
• Total hours swum: More than 420 hours
• Start: Waikuku Beach, North Cape – 5 January 2026
• Finish target: Wellington Early April 2026

Anyone can track Swim4TheOcean live and add their name to the call to end bottom trawling at swim4theocean.org

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.

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Website: liveocean.org/swim4theocean Follow Jono's progress on the live tracker.