Jono Ridler tells of shark encounter on Northland leg of 1600km ocean swim

Jono Ridler has encountered all sorts of wildlife and challenges during the first leg of his epic swim from North Cape.

Ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler has experienced “a bit of everything”, including curious sharks and exuberant locals manu-ing off their boats, during the Northland leg of his epic ocean swim.

Ridler, who began his 1600km swim from North Cape to Wellington on January 5, said he was feeling “pretty good” on January 13, after swimming several hours from Tapuaetahi to just off the Purerua Peninsula in the Bay of Islands.

So far he’s logged more than 150km on his sea journey.

“We’ve had a bit of everything; some wildlife, some adverse conditions, some flat waters, and lots of sun.

“There’s been turtles, penguins, whales, schools of fish, sharks, and jellyfish.

“One shark was swimming next to me, not too long after starting.

“I swam myself to the IRB, and we had a shark break for 20 minutes then I got back in the water.”

Though Ridler couldn’t make out what type of shark it was, or its size, he said it was “big enough”.

“I had an immediate intuition; I got enough of a visual.

“I didn’t feel threatened because it was cruising past me, but your instincts take over, and you want to be out of there.”

Ridler is swimming the length of the North Island’s eastern coastline in a bid to end destructive bottom trawling and shine a light on ocean health.

Called Swim4TheOcean, the mission will involve swimming in long, rotating shifts over roughly 90 days.

He is hoping to get to Wellington around April.

If he is successful, Ridler’s swim will be the longest unassisted staged swim in history.

The 35-year-old Aucklander said the first couple of days of his world-record attempt were “pretty tough”, with swells and wind.

“I didn’t make a whole lot of ground over the first two days.

“Other tough conditions were near the Karikari peninsula with 20-knot winds.

“Swimming in that for six hours was mental and physically challenging and I swallowed lots of seawater.”

Ocean swimmer Jono Ridler (centre) with the Swim4TheOcean operations team at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club.

Ridler has taken five months’ leave from his job as a general manager with DHL to properly prepare and complete the journey, which has been two years in the making.

He is doing the swim in collaboration with marine conservation charity Live Ocean and is being supported by a team of six; two on land and four with him on the water.

His plan is to swim about 30km a day – about 150km a week – for about 12 weeks to meet his goal.

Ridler said so far, his body was adapting well to the challenge.

However, he has experienced “salt mouth”, where prolonged contact with saltwater causes the tongue to become raw and swollen, ulcers on his lips from salt exposure, sunburn, muscle soreness and fatigue.

Over the weekend, when Northland and the rest of New Zealand was cloaked under a heatwave, he “absolutely cooked” even though he slathered on zinc sunscreen.

But Ridler said he’s been buoyed by the locals he met along the way.

He’s had “meaningful chats” with children and grandmothers, and locals he’s met at campgrounds and when launching the boat.

“People are really getting behind us which is amazing.

“A common occurrence is people sending us off when we’re launching the boat.

“At Tapuaetahi they were waving a flag and cheering us on for that leg.

“In Taupō Bay there were guys out on a boat anchored in the bay, and they all did manus off the side of the boat.”

Ridler will spend time talking with the community about his mission to end bottom trawling, a destructive fishing method where heavy, weighted nets are dragged across the ocean floor, damaging habitats like coral reefs and seamounts.

Then he will take a straight line towards Cape Brett as he pushes south, stopping at Northland beaches and coastal communities along the way, before swimming to Goat Island and Auckland, then tackling the rest of the coastline.

Follow his journey at Swim4TheOcean.org and on Live Ocean’s channels @itsliveocean.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.