The milestone swim builds momentum for Swim4TheOcean’s call to end bottom trawling on all seamounts by 2027, bringing the total distance covered to 323km.
Calm Seas, Special Support Swimmers, Steady Progress and a Warm Welcome in Tāmaki Makaurau
By Live Ocean
28/01/2026
Read time: 3 min
Article Summary
Main Points
On Tuesday 27 January, Swim4TheOcean delivered its best conditions yet as Jono Ridler completed a six-hour, 17.6km swim across the Hauraki Gulf, pushing into the Firth of Thames.
Live Ocean co-founders Pete Burling and Blair Tuke joined briefly as support swimmers, before Jono arrived in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to a strong community welcome.
Tuesday, 27 January was a single-swim day for Swim4TheOcean and it delivered some of the best conditions of the entire mission so far. In calm, sunny weather, Jono Ridler completed a six-hour swim that added more than 17km, before coming into Auckland for a positive, well-attended community activation in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The swim saw Jono push further across the Hauraki Gulf and into the Firth of Thames, including navigating through busy shipping lanes.
Out on the water, Live Ocean co-founders Pete Burling and Blair Tuke visited the team and each completed a short support swim alongside Jono, in line with the mission’s strict support swimmer rules.
“We also had Pete Burling and Blair Tuke, co-founders of Live Ocean and legend sailors, get in the water and do some swimming alongside me, which was very cool,” Jono said.
The swim took Jono further towards Port Jackson as he takes on the 54km open body of water to reach the Coromandel Peninsula.
“It was the best conditions we’ve had the entire trip,” Jono said. “At one point the water was like an oil slick – it was so, so calm. It was an amazing day, and I really enjoyed myself.”
Following his six-hour stint, Jono travelled by boat into Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, arriving to a warm welcome at the Hyundai Marine Sports Centre at Royal Akarana Yacht Club in Ōkahu Bay.
“We had our community activation at Akarana and an amazing reception,” Jono said. “Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and members of the wider community, some familiar faces and some not, came out to say hello and get behind the cause. It really feels like the momentum is building.”
Swim4TheOcean is driven by a clear purpose: calling for an end to bottom trawling. New Zealand continues to bottom trawl seamounts in its own waters and is the only nation still bottom trawling 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: 323.0km
Yesterday’s swim — at a glance
- Start: 10:55am
- Time: 6 hours
- Distance: 17.6km
- Average speed: 2.9km/h
1,000 Miles. 90 Days.
A Swim For The Ocean.
The Live Ocean
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