With favourable weather ahead, he’s now navigating currents and island passages as he aims to reach Colville by late Wednesday or early Thursday.
A ‘Milestones’ Day – 300km, 100 hours swimming, 6K signatures
By Live Ocean
26/01/2026
Read time: 3 min
Article Summary
Main Points
Jono departed Goat Island at 10:55am and began the major Hauraki Gulf crossing toward Colville, swimming 16.7km over five hours.
The day marked huge milestones, including passing 300km swum, 100+ hours in the water, and more than 6,000 supporters signing the call to end bottom trawling.
Jono Ridler departed from Te Hāwere-a-Maki Goat Island Marine Reserve north of Auckland this morning at 10:55am as his epic Swim4TheOcean continues to track down the east coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Now taking a straight line towards Colville at the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, today Ridler has started to swim across the Hauraki Gulf and Firth of Thames putting five hours in and getting another 16.7kms under his belt.
Today came with significant milestones –
- Jono has now logged more than 100 hours across 28 swim legs since starting on 5 January at Waikuku Beach, North Cape.
- Jono has now swum more than 300km during Swim4TheOcean – the equivalent of around 12 Cook Strait crossings.
- More than 6,000 people have signed the Swim4TheOcean call for an end to bottom trawling.
The weather forecast over the coming days is favourable, but currents are another key factor the crew continuously monitor in order to optimise Ridler’s progress – and they’re less predictable. He’ll swim to the south of Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island and Aotea Great Barrier Island, aiming to round Colville by late Wednesday or early Thursday (NZT).
The swim to Colville is around 54km, making it one of the longer open-water legs of the Swim4TheOcean mission, and it will be completed across multiple swim stints, and will involve an additional support vessel, and include a pause for further community engagement.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 27 January, Ridler will travel by boat between swim stints for an all-welcome community event in Tāmaki Makaurau, at the Hyundai Akarana Marine Events Centre in Ōkahu Bay. Public supporters should arrive by 5pm for his expected arrival soon after.
When: Arrive by 5pm sharp, Tuesday 27 January
Jono is expected to arrive at 5pm, with formalities starting soon after.
Jono is expected to arrive at 5pm, with formalities starting soon after.
Where: Hyundai Marine Sports Centre, Royal Akarana Yacht Club
8-10 Tamaki Drive, Okahu Bay, Auckland
(On the turf outside Akarana Eatery)
8-10 Tamaki Drive, Okahu Bay, Auckland
(On the turf outside Akarana Eatery)
Jono’s endurance effort is driven by a clear purpose: calling for an end to bottom trawling. New Zealand is still bottom trawling seamounts in our own waters and is the only nation continuing to bottom trawl seamounts on the South Pacific high seas.
Swim4TheOcean is calling on the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts – at home and on the high seas – by the end of 2027, and to activate a rapid transition away from bottom trawling entirely.
Total distance covered: 305.4km
Today’s swim — at a glance
Swim
Start: 10:55am
Time: 5 hours 1 minute
Distance: 16.7km
Average speed: 3.3km/h
Time: 5 hours 1 minute
Distance: 16.7km
Average speed: 3.3km/h
1,000 Miles. 90 Days.
A Swim For The Ocean.
The Live Ocean
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