Please select your home edition
Edition
CollinsonCo 728x90 TOP

Live Ocean: Jono Ridler nears 1,000km mark - Swim4TheOcean

by Jodie Bakewell-White - Live Ocean Racing 7 Mar 13:47 NZDT
Jono Ridler - 925km mark passed - Swim4TheOcean - March 6, 2026 © Joshua McCormack

Jono Ridler entered the water at North Cape on 5 January and is attempting to swim the length of the east coast of NZ's North Island to Wellington - wearing only togs, a swim cap and goggles

  • Distance: Jono Ridler is closing in on the 1,000km mark in his unassisted staged swim world-record attempt. The major milestone is expected to fall in the coming days. Ridler has now swum more than 925km and is covering upwards of 25km a day when conditions allow. The total projected distance for the North Cape to Wellington swim is approximately 1,400km.

  • Location: Today Ridler crossed the 39° south latitude line and is today swimming offshore from the Mahia Peninsula, south of Turanganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne. From here the route cuts a straight line across Hawke Bay towards Te Kauwae-a-Maui, Cape Kidnappers.

  • Latest video: The latest Swim4TheOcean weekly update video is live today, showcasing Ridler's effort, the support team around him, and the communities welcoming the crew along the coast.

  • Signatures: More than 24,000 people have signed the Swim4TheOcean call for the New Zealand Government to end bottom trawling on all seamounts - both in New Zealand waters and on the high seas - by the end of 2027, and to activate a transition away from bottom trawling entirely.

  • Next Stopover: A community stopover event is being planned - tentatively Tuesday 10 March at Perfume Point, Te Karaka Reserve, Napier, with a warm welcome expected. Follow @itsliveocean on social media for confirmed timing and updates.

  • International recognition: Swim4TheOcean has been officially endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development as an Ocean Decade Activity - recognising the mission's contribution to global ocean awareness and action.

    New Zealanders can track Swim4TheOcean live and add their name to the call to end bottom trawling at www.swim4theocean.org

    Swim4TheOcean is backed by Platinum sponsor TMNZ alongside supporting swim sponsors including APL, Forsyth Barr, Generate KiwiSaver, and StabiX.

    Follow the mission at www.Swim4TheOcean.org and on Live Ocean's channels @itsliveocean.

    View at www.Swim4TheOcean.org

    Embed code www.predictwind.com/live-ocean/media

    Website: liveocean.org/swim4theocean Follow Jono's progress on the live tracker.

    The Swim4TheOcean project is heavily reliant on PredictWind for forecasting of both weather and currents as well as data transmission on progress using a PredictWind Datahub.

    Win a PredictWind DataHub and 12 month Professional subscription - photo © PredictWind
    Win a PredictWind DataHub and 12 month Professional subscription - photo © PredictWind

    Win a PredictWind DataHub

    Don't forget to make your entry in the PredictWind competition to win a PredictWind DataHub and a 12 month Professional subscription, with three other prizes of 12 month professional subscriptions. Enter by clicking this link www.sail-world.com/NZ/competition/30

    • Related Articles

    Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Mission accomplished
    Jono Ridler has completed his extraordinary Swim4TheOcean, freestyling into Welington on Saturday After 90 days, 1,367 kilometres and more than 468 hours in the ocean, Jono Ridler has completed his extraordinary Swim4TheOcean, freestyling into Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington at noon Saturday. Posted on 4 Apr     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - at the entrance
    Jono Ridler's arrival into Wellington has been set for noon Saturday. Jono Ridler's 1,367km Swim4TheOcean mission has reached its penultimate day, with the final swim now mapped and his arrival into Wellington set for noon Saturday. Posted on 2 Apr     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Into Cook Strait
    Jono Ridler has rounded Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island Jono Ridler has rounded Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island, and is now swimming into Cook Strait, one of the most challenging stretches of water in the world, with just 57.7km of his 1,350km Swim4TheOcean remaining. Posted on 30 Mar     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Wellington arrival
    Jono Ridler has broken through the 150km-to-go mark in his 1,350km Swim4TheOcean mission Jono Ridler has broken through the 150km-to-go mark in his 1,350km Swim4TheOcean mission and is now potentially just days away from reaching Wellington. Posted on 24 Mar     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Wellington beckons
    Jono Ridler is entering the final and most difficult stretch of his extraordinary Swim4TheOcean 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 Posted on 18 Mar     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - passes 1,000km mark
    Jono Ridler is on track to set a world-record 1,400km no-wetsuit, staged swim 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. Posted on 12 Mar     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - passes 800km mark
    Jono Ridler has pushed past 800 kilometres in his Swim4TheOcean mission Jono Ridler has pushed past 800 kilometres in his Swim4TheOcean mission from Cape to Capital, with less than 600 kilometres projected remaining before he reaches Wellington. Posted on 25 Feb     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - At the halfway point
    Open water marathon swimmer Jono Ridler has hit the halfway mark of Swim4TheOcean Open water marathon swimmer Jono Ridler has hit the halfway mark of Swim4TheOcean - his world-record swim attempt from North Cape to Wellington with a call to end bottom trawling. New Video. Posted on 20 Feb     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - One epic month
    Jono Ridler has knocked off 493km of his Swim4TheOcean and completed more than a third of the total. One month on from wading into the surf at Waikuku Beach North Cape on 5 January Jono Ridler has knocked off 493km of his Swim4TheOcean and completed more than a third of the total projected distance to Wellington. Posted on 5 Feb     Live Ocean: Jono Ridler - Covers 30km in 8hrs
    With notoriously tricky currents at the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, timing was vital. With notoriously tricky currents at the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, timing was everything for this section of Jono Ridler's Swim4TheOcean. Posted on 30 Jan
    C-Tech 2021 (Spars-QFX Racer) 728x90 BOTTOMU-DECK 2023 - No.4 728x90 BOTTOMDoyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY BOTTOM
    This site and its contents are Copyright © 2026 Sail-World NZ Boating World and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved. Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph contact the photographer directly.
    If you have any questions about advertising or editorial then please contact our team. If you encounter any technical issues then please email techsupport@sail-world.com
    Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy