Sir Bob Harvey recalls his swim across the Dardanelles Strait
This summer, I will do what I have done for the past 63 years. I will put on a Surf Life Saving patrol uniform and once a month sit between the flags on Karekare beach. It's been a long summer for me, nearly my whole life saving people from a watery death. My companion for these years, Stuart Hammond, has just turned 80 and I'm heading that way next year. We trained at the Tepid Baths through the long Auckland winters and, in those early days, our Surf Life Saving costume was a pair of Speedos and a lifesaving cap, nowadays it's a real dressed-up job of shirts and jackets and instant rescues.
I've never feared the sea or the surf and as a descendant of Portuguese whalers I think I have salt water in my veins. I've never feared sharks and Stuart and I swam the Manukau Heads, bronze whalers and white pointers raced under us as we made the first crossing from the south tip to the Whatipu cliffs. It's important you don't fear what lies beneath. I once swam the treacherous strait of the Dardanelles, which links Europe to Asia. It's a daunting swim and I do remember wondering what was beneath.
I was very keen to emulate the remarkable Lord Byron, who had made the swim in May 1862. I read his winter diaries as he warmed up for the attempt. It was the stuff of legends. The strait was greatly feared from ancient times, with its four strong currents and reputation for destroying the Persian fleet. When I got to the beach where he had swum from I found a large new modern town and military guards everywhere and police on high alert. It took many bribes to even get near the wharf for the plunge. It's 4km across and it seemed no one had made the swim in living memory.