The big swim.
I needed to wait until today before writing this as my head was not in the right space straight after yesterdays swim. Almost a full year of training to get fit enough to tackle the Straits and I’m sad to say we didn’t manage to ‘knock the bastard off’. We stepped up to the challenge, gave it our absolute best shot but unfortunately nature had the last laugh.
Nerves meant that neither Al nor I got much sleep the night before but we boarded the boat in good spirits and motored off to the start. We were to swim from Ohau point on the North Island, almost directly West to Perano Heads on Arapawa Island. When we arrived at the start it seemed like perfect conditions; fairly flat water, light winds and sunshine but at that stage we had no idea how strong the tide would be and we had totally underestimated the effect of being in 15 degree water for 6 hours.
It felt quite chilly when we first got in but we thought that some hard work would soon warm us up. It’s difficult to describe how cold it was but its enough to say that I knew we were in serious trouble when after only 90 minutes, at our second food break, I couldn’t hold the drink cup because I was shivering so much.
Physically and psychologically the cold slowly but surely sucks the life out of you. After 2 hours I couldn’t feel my fingers and unfortunately my hands had cramped up with the fingers bent and open, which meant I couldn’t pull on the water properly. The cold is so dominant that I found it almost impossible to control my thoughts and reverted to chanting positive mantras to try to keep my mind off the cold – with little effect.
After 3 hours we heard the news that we were almost half way across and ahead of target, which gave us a little lift but within 30 seconds of hearing good news the freezing conditions wrench your mind back to how helpless you’ve become. In the centre of the Strait the tide is at it’s strongest and we started being swept north at a huge rate of knots. When we looked at the chart afterwards we found that in this period, during one 30 minute segment we swam the required 2km but made only 300m towards our goal.
After that things became a little blurred, I remember that we were visited a couple of times by a pod of dolphins that kept swimming 2m beneath us smiling and mocking the pathetic figures above them. At times I was so cold that I started hallucinating and realized that from time to time I was making detours to swim around palm trees!
Finally the cold water started to win and hypothermia took over. I remember looking at Al as they pulled him onto the boat and thinking how grey and near death he looked - thank God I didn’t have a mirror in my togs. I don’t remember much about my last 30 minutes other than it was totally dominated by thoughts of hopelessness.
I was shaking so much when they pulled me out that I couldn’t do anything for myself other than hold my leg which had totally cramped up. The support crew dressed me and as the life slowly crept back into us Al and I started to discuss the swim and thank the brilliant guys that had helped us. Unfortunately I felt extremely sick at this stage so I couldn’t eat or drink anything and had to just sit there holding a bucket as we motored back to Mana! We warmed up within the hour but my sickness didn’t pass until much later when we arrived at the airport to catch the last flight home.
My wonderful, long suffering wife Siobhan brought the kids to the airport to greet us and my great friend and supporter Allie Mooney drove down from the North Shore to be there too – a wonderful surprise.
Thanks for all your 1000’s of emails and messages of support and sorry I’ve not responded to them all individually. To answer some of your questions: Yes I’m obviously disappointed in the outcome but extremely proud of what we achieved. We were definitely fit and strong enough and we actually swam the full 26 km (just not in the right direction), but nature beat us in the end. There are a few things I would do differently but what it has taught me is: never underestimate the importance of the right preparation and nothing beats the experience of someone who’s been where you want to go. Will I have another go? I don’t know, only time will tell.
I can tell you that what they say about Everest is true for the Cook Strait too: You don’t conquer either of them - they relent. I’m told that only 1 in 6 of the attempts on the Straits are successful and I suppose that’s because it’s a rare occurrence that the elements conspire to let you across. As with life in general you have to be good enough and be in the right place at the right time and then you’ll have your chance of success.
I must take the opportunity of thanking the captain and crew of the boat that took us across. They were absolutely brilliant and kept Al and I safe and secure during the whole swim, despite the odd curse from us! Thanks to Dave Sharp for filming the day – God I’m not looking forward to some of those shots. Thanks a million to Jones Lang LaSalle and Turners and Growers for helping with the funding and to Happy Valley Honey for the wonderful honey sandwiches!!
Whatever your Cook Strait challenge is just make sure you give it everything you’ve got and be prepared to be challenged to your limits on the way.
John Shackleton
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
All over....
At 3.30pm the support crew made the decision to take John out of the water too as he was exhibiting signs of hypothermia and was also vomiting. The current was still so strong that progress was minimal and there was at least an hour until the tide turned which would probably have given some assistance. Needless to say, both he and Al are gutted after all the training but sometimes the elements are not in our favour and this was one of those times. They spent 7 and 7 1/2 hours in the water and swam their hearts out but today the Strait was not letting them over. Thanks for all your messages of support, and in particular thank you so much to Jones Lang LaSalle, Noel Leeming, Happy Valley Honey, Good Morning, Breakfast, The Breeze and Dave Sharp for your invaluable input.
Collective positive thoughts needed right now please...
After being in the water for over 7 hours John is struggling, in the last half hour he only made 300m due to a very strong northbound current that is pushing him way off course and will make the swim much longer if he is able to continue. The water temp is only 15 degrees, not 16-17 as expected and Al has had to stop swimming as he was on the verge of hypothermia. The boat guys are continuing to encourage John to continue and will check his progress on the chart next break to ensure he's not actually going backwards. Damn Cook Strait currents...
Saturday 31 March 7.30am
It is a calm clear day down in Wellington. John and Al are at the marina and ready to go, should be starting within the half hour. Very excited, very apprehensive but ready to take on the challenge. Updates as and when possible depending on mobile reception in the middle of the ocean!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday 30 March 7.30pm
Had the call from Philip - we hit the water at around 8am tomorrow! Bring it on!
The swim is looking good for tomorrow (Saturday 31st) and so if nothing changes we will be travelling down to Wellington tonight. Dave Sharp of Badger Films is coming along to take some video of the crossing and hopefully he'll be posting snippets onto YouTube. If you've JOINED THIS SITE (top right of this screen) you'll automatically get updates from Siobhan including links to these videos throughout the day.
I did my last training session yesterday and prepared all the food and drink that I'll need for the crossing including what looks like 100 honey sandwiches! I've packed and re packed the bag a 1000 times making sure my goggles, hat etc are all there. The brown Speedos are packed and ready to go too! The only thing left to do now is wait which is the most uncomfortable bit.
Thanks to everyone who has sent a message of support I'll be thinking of you all during the swim. Also huge appreciation to all those who have helped me during the last year, particularly Nick and the team at Jones Lang LaSalle who are sponsoring this attempt. Please rest assured that I'll give it everything I've got.
I did my last training session yesterday and prepared all the food and drink that I'll need for the crossing including what looks like 100 honey sandwiches! I've packed and re packed the bag a 1000 times making sure my goggles, hat etc are all there. The brown Speedos are packed and ready to go too! The only thing left to do now is wait which is the most uncomfortable bit.
Thanks to everyone who has sent a message of support I'll be thinking of you all during the swim. Also huge appreciation to all those who have helped me during the last year, particularly Nick and the team at Jones Lang LaSalle who are sponsoring this attempt. Please rest assured that I'll give it everything I've got.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Our tide window opened today but unfortunately the weather isn't good enough for us to get in the water. I'm told that there are 20-30 knot winds in Cook Strait right now despite the fact that the rest of the country is enjoying great weather. That also means that there will be no swim tomorrow (Thursday) either. So we are remaining in Auckland and talking with Philip Rush everyday by phone.
When the big day happens my long suffering wife Siobhan will be keeping everyone up to date with our progress on this blog so click on the JOIN THIS SITE button if you'd like to get the updates.
When the big day happens my long suffering wife Siobhan will be keeping everyone up to date with our progress on this blog so click on the JOIN THIS SITE button if you'd like to get the updates.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Week 46 - 26 March
Nearly there now!! Our tide window opens on Wednesday so the swim could be just two days away. It is exciting, nervewracking - you name it!
Have been publicising the swim this last week with an appearance on Good Morning and Breakfast - click here to see Saturday's interview.
Had a great email this morning from my friend Paul Bolte of Bartercard which I thought I should share with you - here goes.
Don’t Ever Give Up
Once a big fat frog and a lively little frog were hopping along together when they had the misfortune to jump straight into a pail of fresh milk. They swam for hours and hours, hoping to get out somehow; but the sides of the pail were steep and slippery, and death seemed certain.
When the big frog was exhausted he lost courage. There seemed no hope of rescue. “Why keep struggling against the inevitable ? I can’t swim any longer , ” he moaned. “Keep on! Keep on! ” urged the little frog, who was still circling the pail. So they went on for awhile. But the big frog decided it was no use. “Little brother, we may as well give up, ” he gasped, “I’m going to quit struggling.
Now only the little frog was left. He thought to himself, “Well, to give up is to be dead, so I will keep on swimming. Two more hours passed and the tiny legs of the determined little frog were almost paralyzed with exhaustion. It seemed as if he could not keep moving for another minute. But then he thought of his dead friend, and repeated, “To give up is to be meat for someone’s table, so I’ll keep on paddling until I die–if death is to come–but I will not cease trying–’while there is life, there’s hope ! ‘”
Intoxicated with determination, the little frog kept on, around and around and around the pail, chopping the milk into white waves. After awhile, just as he felt completely numb and thought he was about to drown, he suddenly felt something solid under him. To his astonishment, he saw that he was resting on a lump of butter which he had churned by his incessant paddling ! And so the successful little frog leaped out of the milk pail to freedom.
If you feel you have something you need to do in this life, something you feel is meaningful, never give up, keep pushing even if it’s until your last breath, if you have a clear aim and unshakeable determination, you too can jump into freedom.
Have been publicising the swim this last week with an appearance on Good Morning and Breakfast - click here to see Saturday's interview.
Had a great email this morning from my friend Paul Bolte of Bartercard which I thought I should share with you - here goes.
Don’t Ever Give Up
Once a big fat frog and a lively little frog were hopping along together when they had the misfortune to jump straight into a pail of fresh milk. They swam for hours and hours, hoping to get out somehow; but the sides of the pail were steep and slippery, and death seemed certain.
When the big frog was exhausted he lost courage. There seemed no hope of rescue. “Why keep struggling against the inevitable ? I can’t swim any longer , ” he moaned. “Keep on! Keep on! ” urged the little frog, who was still circling the pail. So they went on for awhile. But the big frog decided it was no use. “Little brother, we may as well give up, ” he gasped, “I’m going to quit struggling.
Now only the little frog was left. He thought to himself, “Well, to give up is to be dead, so I will keep on swimming. Two more hours passed and the tiny legs of the determined little frog were almost paralyzed with exhaustion. It seemed as if he could not keep moving for another minute. But then he thought of his dead friend, and repeated, “To give up is to be meat for someone’s table, so I’ll keep on paddling until I die–if death is to come–but I will not cease trying–’while there is life, there’s hope ! ‘”
Intoxicated with determination, the little frog kept on, around and around and around the pail, chopping the milk into white waves. After awhile, just as he felt completely numb and thought he was about to drown, he suddenly felt something solid under him. To his astonishment, he saw that he was resting on a lump of butter which he had churned by his incessant paddling ! And so the successful little frog leaped out of the milk pail to freedom.
If you feel you have something you need to do in this life, something you feel is meaningful, never give up, keep pushing even if it’s until your last breath, if you have a clear aim and unshakeable determination, you too can jump into freedom.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Week 44 - 12 March
As you will probably have noticed, we didn't get an earlier slot to make our attempt! However, we are counting down now, only 10 days to go and the bag is still sitting in the corner of the bedroom, packed and ready to go. I don't think we were even this organised when we were waiting for the kids to be born!
Preparation continues to go well, and has been made so much easier by the help I have received, in particular from Jones Lang LaSalle with their sponsorship, Happy Valley Honey and their fabulous products, and, of course, my awesome coaches Pedro Cabral Barbosa and Jane Logan.
This weekend saw me racing in Auckland, a 6.4km course in tough conditions from St Heliers, along the bay and back again, and I was delighted to take out first place for non wetsuit swimmers, and 6th place overall. I feel very comfortable in the water at the moment and am not having problems maintaining a steady pace for however long I am swimming, and have a surprisingly fast recovery when the swim is over - although after 26km a bit of a rest might be needed! The main concern is not to be too keen and go out too fast, but Al and I are managing to swim in unison really well which is exactly what we will need for the crossing.
All that remains for this week is to pray for good weather so we can get in the water - wind will be a major factor and could mean the difference between a swim taking around 7 hours and a swim taking around 10 hours. At the moment we still hope to achieve around 7 hours - fingers crossed!
Preparation continues to go well, and has been made so much easier by the help I have received, in particular from Jones Lang LaSalle with their sponsorship, Happy Valley Honey and their fabulous products, and, of course, my awesome coaches Pedro Cabral Barbosa and Jane Logan.
This weekend saw me racing in Auckland, a 6.4km course in tough conditions from St Heliers, along the bay and back again, and I was delighted to take out first place for non wetsuit swimmers, and 6th place overall. I feel very comfortable in the water at the moment and am not having problems maintaining a steady pace for however long I am swimming, and have a surprisingly fast recovery when the swim is over - although after 26km a bit of a rest might be needed! The main concern is not to be too keen and go out too fast, but Al and I are managing to swim in unison really well which is exactly what we will need for the crossing.
All that remains for this week is to pray for good weather so we can get in the water - wind will be a major factor and could mean the difference between a swim taking around 7 hours and a swim taking around 10 hours. At the moment we still hope to achieve around 7 hours - fingers crossed!
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