Live Ocean: Jono Ridler passes 1,000km mark

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

by Jodie Bakewell-White - Live Ocean Racing 12 Mar 14:59 NZDT

Jono Ridler - 1,000km mark passed - Swim4TheOcean - March 11, 2026 © Joshua McCormack

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.

Ridler has now spent over 340 hours in the ocean taking an estimated million strokes. Reaching the 1,000km mark represents the equivalent of swimming the English Channel nearly 30 times or crossing Cook Strait around 45 times.

Swim4TheOcean, being done in partnership with marine conservation charity Live Ocean, is an unprecedented endurance swim that takes a clear ask to decision makers to commit to ending bottom trawling.

The 1,000km milestone was reached during Jono’s swim across Hawke’s Bay today, after weeks of ocean swimming along some of the country’s most iconic and exposed coastline.

Ridler said; “It feels pretty surreal to hit a thousand kilometres. That’s only been possible through doing hard things, doing what we need do every single day, now 60 plus days into this thing. And just allowing those small wins to stack on top of each other has allowed us to get to this big win that we’ve got now.

“It’s really cool to look back on – I don’t want to celebrate it too much because we do still have a wee way to go, but it’s cool to stop for a second, to pause and to appreciate what we’ve done to get to this point.”

Jono Ridler - 1,000km mark passed - Swim4TheOcean - March 11, 2026 - photo © Joshua McCormack

Hamish Willcox, experienced sailor and sailing coach, has joined the Swim4TheOcean support team for a short stint. Speaking about Ridler he commented; “What I see is this incredible determination, not for just himself to create a record - that seems to be a secondary purpose. His determination is really to bring the plight of the ocean into our living rooms.”

“When I first heard Jono talk about a mission like this, I was just blown away. I mean, could it be possible? It seemed unthinkable to consider walking from the top of the north island to the bottom of the north island. But swimming - that was another level.”

“I reckon it was an impossible task, and he is turning it - pretty rapidly - into a possible task.”

Since entering the surf at Waikuku Beach, North Cape on 5 January, he has swum across Great Exhibition Bay, through the Hole in the Rock, crossed the Hauraki Gulf, rounded the tip of the Coromandel, stopped in at Mount Maunganui, pushed across the Bay of Plenty and navigated the notoriously complex waters around Cape Runaway and East Cape - where currents converge, conditions can turn quickly and sea temperatures noticeably drop.

“The toll is cumulative,” says Ridler. “There’s the constant salt exposure - the raw mouth and tongue that come from weeks of immersion. A lingering wrist niggle and fatigued shoulders from thousands of repetitive strokes.”

And then there’s the mental challenge. Hour after hour in the water, with long stretches alone in his own thoughts - managing setbacks, swimming in darkness, resetting after weather days ashore, and getting back in when conditions allow.

“This is about persistence,” Ridler says. “Some days you feel strong. Some days you’re just managing things. You focus on the next stroke, the next feed, the next hour. That’s how I keep going.”

With Wellington still hundreds of kilometres away, the focus now shifts to navigating the most exposed and logistically challenging section of the route.

From Hawke’s Bay south, safe harbours are few. Long, open sections offer little shelter from southerlies and rolling swells. Weather windows become increasingly important.

As Jono’s Swim4TheOcean pushed past Mahia peninsula he has traced a path across the wide-open stretch of Hawke’s Bay towards Te Kauwae-a-Maui Cape Kidnappers. At times they’re 40 km from the nearest point of land, with a safe access point for the boats even further.

As they take on this challenge, an extra larger support vessel has joined them providing an option for Jono and the crew to rest between swim legs, without the long transfer back to land. It’s a new approach that brings new challenges for them.

New Zealand has responsibility for the fourth largest ocean territory on the planet yet remains the only country still bottom trawling on seamounts in the high seas of the South Pacific.

Public support for the kaupapa has grown steadily as the swim has progressed. More than 27,500 have now signed the call for action, and hundreds have turned out at beaches and community stopovers along the route from Northland to Gisborne.

Several prominent New Zealanders have shown their support for the mission with video messages congratulating Ridler on his effort so far. They included Dan Carter, Brodie Kane, Six60, Matt Watson, Kai Kara-France, Anna Willcox, Robbie Magasiva and Sarah Wiseman.

For Ridler, that visible support matters. “When I started, it was one person in the water. Now it feels like something much bigger than me. Every message, every signature, every person who shows up, it carries us south.”

As he continues south, Ridler will carry the growing public mandate toward the capital - asking decision-makers to step up and commit to ending bottom trawling on seamounts, and to take stronger action for ocean health.

Key facts – Swim4TheOcean (on 11 March)