Jono Ridler has now pushed through the 200 kilometre-to-go milestone in his 1,350km Swim4TheOcean mission, as the final push towards Wellington brings his message to decision makers firmly into focus.
A fifth consecutive day of back-to-back, two-swim efforts of 25km-plus has seen Jono Ridler edge closer to breaking through the 200km-to-go mark in this epic Swim4TheOcean.
Jono Ridler has delivered a fourth consecutive day of sustained effort, banking another 25km on Wednesday, 18 March and taking the four-day total to more than 100 kilometres since weather last held the team ashore.
After more than ten weeks in the water, ultra-distance swimmer Jono Ridler is entering the final and most difficult stretch of his extraordinary Swim4TheOcean world record attempt – pushing south through colder water, jellyfish stings and mounting fatigue as Wellington draws closer.
The cold is setting in as Swim4TheOcean pushes south, with Jono now spending long hours in water temperatures as low as 16°C. That is around seven degrees colder than what he was swimming in a month ago, and the toll is starting to show.
After two days weather forced him ashore in Napier, Jono Ridler has set his sights on the final stretch of Swim4TheOcean, telling the crew he’d like to reach Wellington within three weeks.
A close encounter with mollymawks and another major stretch of coastline behind him marked Jono Ridler’s latest day on the water (Thursday, 12 March), before a southerly front forced the team back into shelter.
Episode 10 follows Jono and the crew as they track south from Whāngārā to the Māhia Peninsula and begin the long crossing of Hawke Bay. There’s a warm community stop in Gisborne and reflections from sailor and sailing coach Hamish Willcox.
Progress across the outer reaches of Hawke’s Bay came slowly for Jono Ridler on 11 March, with frustrating opposing currents turning every kilometre into hard work.
Jono Ridler has now swum 1,000km of New Zealand’s east coast in his Swim4TheOcean – a staggering milestone in what is tracking to be a world-record 1,400km no-wetsuit, staged swim from North Cape to Wellington.
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