Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Swim4TheOcean - Around Cape Palliser
by Jodie Bakewell-White - Live Ocean Racing 30 Mar 16:22 PDT
Jono Ridler - heads into Cook Strait - Swim4TheOcean - March 30, 2026 © Joshua McCormack
Jono Ridler has rounded Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island, and is now swimming into Cook Strait, one of the most challenging stretches of water in the world, with just 57.7km of his 1,350km Swim4TheOcean remaining.
On the same day, the goal of 50,000 signatures for the Swim4TheOcean call to end bottom trawling was exceeded, and the count continues to grow.
Yesterday, Ridler put in a single seven-hour, 19-minute stint - the longest of the mission yet - to safely swim around the lower tip of New Zealand’s North Island, where powerful currents and unpredictable swells converge. After being southbound for nearly three months, just after 5pm on Monday, 30 March, he was swimming into Cook Strait with Cape Palliser lighthouse on his right.
Ridler went into the water at the last marked GPS point just to the north of remote White Rock and got going at 10am after an earlier attempt was thwarted by prolific jellyfish and adverse current; “We aimed to start this morning’s swim at 8am and thought we might only get a few hours in. When I jumped in the water, there were barbed-wire jellyfish everywhere. So, I jumped back on the boat.”
“We did some tide checks and waited until 10am, and then started. I just kept going and going, and by the end of it, it was about seven and a half hours of continuous swimming - our longest swim to date.
“That’s as far south as we’re ever going to be on this swim, which is a cool milestone, and now we’re cutting in towards Wellington.”
It marks one of the most demanding milestones of the journey so far and means he’s just days from completing what’s expected to be ratified as a world-record unassisted staged swim.
Blair Tuke, Live Ocean Co-Founder, was there for what was the last significant cape rounding of the swim at the southernmost point of the mission.
“The swim yesterday to pass around Cape Palliser really epitomised what this mission’s been about - Jono’s effort, and logistical complexities for the operations team. It’s an incredibly rugged stretch of coast, but beautiful at the same time.”
He commented on the momentum in signatures on the Swim4TheOcean call for action: “A big moment to push through 50,000. That is a significant number of people who want an end to bottom trawling and sends a clear message to our decision makers that New Zealanders want to change.”
“Now let’s see how far we can go with it. Jono’s effort has been superhuman, so let’s match that.”
Ridler is anticipated to arrive in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, later this week, with the team working through final approach plans that will be influenced by wind, sea state and current in the coming days. A southerly is predicted today, bringing strong winds and big swells.
The intention is for Ridler to swim into Whairepo Lagoon, central Wellington, where he will complete the unprecedented journey that began at Waikuku Beach, North Cape, on 5 January, almost three months ago.
Supporters can track his final push live and witness the historic moment he swims in on the waterfront, with further details on the exact location to be confirmed closer to arrival.
The finish will mark not just the end of an extraordinary endurance effort but also the delivery of a clear message to decision-makers, and at the conclusion of his final swim leg, Ridler will walk to the Parliament steps.
Backed by Live Ocean, the mission calls for an end to bottom trawling, using the scale of the swim to engage New Zealanders and build a wave of public support for stronger ocean protection.
As Ridler closes in on the capital, that message will arrive with him, carried the length of the country and backed by a growing number of New Zealanders adding their names to the call for change. More than 50,800 people have signed.
Follow the tracker at swim4theocean.org and stay tuned to @itsliveocean for real-time updates as Ridler pushes towards Wellington.
Key facts – Swim4TheOcean (on 31 March)
- Signatures: 50,820
- Distance remaining: 57.69km
- Total distance swum: 1,308.67km
- Total hours swum: 450 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.
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Website: liveocean.org/swim4theocean Follow Jono's progress on the live tracker.