Adverse Conditions Bite Near Tora

Now deep into the remote lower Wairarapa coastline, between Te Awaiti Beach and Tora, Jono Ridler and the Swim4TheOcean support crew had a challenging day on the water as they continue their push towards Cape Palliser. 

After a good start to the day, things became increasingly tough as they worked south along this exposed stretch, with progress slowing after favourable weather windows in recent days. 

The challenge came in the form of a south-south easterly breeze and adverse current. Both were relatively mild and still safe and swimmable, but mentally taxing after several days of strong gains. 

The forecast is being closely monitored, with Thursday’s conditions expected to allow for a single swim window before conditions deteriorate significantly. 

In total, Jono spent eight hours in the water across two swims and banked around 18.5km. He got in just before 8am and came out just ahead of midday, completing a four-hour opening block and ticking off 10km at an average pace of 2.5km/h. 

After just 2.5 hours out of the water, he was back in at the last marked GPS point at 2:30pm, swimming through until about 6:30pm. 

In the second swim, Jono put in another four-hour effort, with gains harder to come by at an average pace of 2.2km/h, adding a further 8.5km. 

A visit from some dolphins lifted the mood, but without doubt, it was one of the tougher days of the mission. 

An hour or so into the second swim Andy Tuke said; “We’ve had a glamour couple of weeks. A couple of days off at Ākitio and now we’re back into our fourth day of swimming. It has gone a bit pear-shaped for us this afternoon. Adverse current and we had nor-east forecast and it’s still blowing from the south-east, so we’re just waiting for the breeze and the current to come around.”  

They came ashore at a remote spot south of Te Awaiti Beach and north of Tora, hosted and assisted by locals, a reminder that this mission wouldn’t be possible without support in these isolated parts of the coastline. 

Ahead lies White Rock and Cape Palliser, at the southern tip of the North Island, before turning to face the challenge of Cook Strait. 

Signatures continue to grow. At the time of writing, more than 41,500 people have signed the call to end bottom trawling. 

Follow Jono’s progress on the live tracker and add your signature to the call to end bottom trawling at Swim4TheOcean. 

Projected distance to go: 111.14km

Total distance covered: 1,254.78km 

Swims at a glance – 25 March 

Swim 1

Time: 3 hours 59 mins 
Distance: 10.08km 
Average speed: 2.5km/h 

Swim 2

Time: 3 hours 58 mins  
Distance: 8.59km 
Average speed: 2.2km/h