He swam 15.9km in 5 hours 37 minutes on Friday, while today’s swim was cancelled due to unsafe weather, which is being monitored daily.
Testing Day on the Water for Jono
By Live Ocean
18/01/2026
Read time: 3 min
Article Summary
Main Points
Jono began his swim north of Tutukaka in tough, confused seas and a negative current, making the opening hours a hard grind before conditions improved past Ngunguru.
Support from families, paddlers, and boats lifted morale as he continued to Pataua North, where he exited the water and the team wrapped up as rain arrived.
Jono began Saturday’s (17 January) swim around 6km north of Tutukaka, with members of the local swim community on hand to see him off. The Operations Team described the sea state as confused for the first three hours. Along with a negative current, the opening stretch was a tough grind for Jono.
Despite the challenging start, support out on the water lifted the day. A family in a double kayak brought the kids along, a paddler in a waka ama joined in, and another family followed from a fishing boat – all coming out to show their support for Jono.
Once the swim passed Ngunguru, conditions settled and Jono continued until off the coast of Pataua North where he exited the water and the GPS pin was dropped. Back at base camp, the team wrapped up for the day just as the rain set in.
Saturday, 17 January
Time: 5 hours 37 mins
Distance: 15.9km
Speed: 2:83 km/h
Sunday, 18 January
The weather is above the safe operating conditions for Jono and the team and he will not be swimming today. The weather is expected to last until Thursday and the team will continue to assess the weather daily.
1,000 Miles. 90 Days.
A Swim For The Ocean.
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