55.5km Gain In Under Two Days As Ridler Pushes South

After Thursday’s record-breaking effort, there was little time to rest. Jono Ridler and the Swim4TheOcean crew came ashore late and were back on the water before dawn on Friday, 27 February. 

With the forecast and currents lining up, it was planned as a single-swim day. Jono started at 6am and swam through to midday – six steady hours in the ocean off the east coast as he tracks towards Gisborne. 

It followed his biggest day of the mission so far. Across a relentless 31-hour stretch, more than half of it – 17 hours – was spent in the water. The focus was simple: make ground while conditions allowed. After banking 35km the day before, Friday’s 19.75km took the combined gain to 55.5km in less than two days. 

“It’s been a big couple of days – to put in another session on top of yesterday,” Jono said. 

Conditions had settled after a sloppy sea overnight. Speaking at 6:15am, on-water safety support Julius Bell reported: “Nice glassy water, with a little bit of a swell rolling through – the wind has dropped right off. Good conditions for Jono’s swim this morning.” 

Midway through the session, Ben Goffin said the team were keeping a close eye on the tides. “Jono is swimming really well, we’re holding good pace. We’re about to do a tide check to see what the currents are doing. They’ve been really nice so far but they are predicted to change shortly. 

“Jono – he’s doing brilliantly today. No complaints, weather is good and the team is good.” 

The crew came ashore for a rest stop adjacent to Whangara (Whitireia) Marae, near Whangara, with Whangara Island sitting just off the coast. 

According to the live tracker, Jono has now covered 856.6km. Based on the projected total route of 1,387.53km, approximately 530.9km remains to Wellington. 

Total distance covered: 856.6km

Projected distance to go: 530.9km 

Swim at a glance – 27 February 

Time: 6 hours 
Distance: 19.75km 
Average speed: 3.3km/h