LIVEOCEAN  Jono Rider

Jono Ridler has positioned himself at the threshold of Wellington Harbour, wrapping day two of a final push just south of Barrett Reef and setting up for the penultimate day of Swim4TheOcean.

With the finish drawing closer, Jono was back out into Palliser Bay at dawn on 2 April, focused on reducing the distance to go. Entering the water to the east of Tuakirae Head at 8:06am, and challemged with unpredictable currents, he put together a strong three-and-a-half-hour swim, covering 11.4km at a pace of 3.3km/h.

Later in the day, he and the team went again for a second push. Just under two hours in the water added a further 6.25km, with Jono finishing the swim just on 7pm.

By the end of the day, the Swim4TheOcean live tracker shows Jono completed that second swim at the centre of the outer entrance to Wellington Harbour, just to the south of Barrett Reef.

He now has less than 13km projected distance remaining, with 1,354.12km behind him as he prepares for day 89 of his 90-day, unassisted staged swim down the entire east coast of the North Island.

With momentum building and the finish line drawing closer, the focus now turns to the next two-day window to drive progress toward the capital.His arrival into Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington has now been confirmed for Saturday 4 April. It will be exactly 90 days after he started at Waikuku Beach, North Cape.

Arrival date: Saturday 4 April

Time: Jono will swim in at midday

Arrival location: Whairepo Lagoon, central Wellington

Following his extraordinary three-month journey, Jono will complete the mission with a walk to Parliament, where he will be met by the Hon Tama Potaka, in a symbolic moment marking the delivery of his message to decision-makers.

The message, backed by a growing wave of public support, is an ask for decision makers to commit to end bottom trawling. Almost 60,000 people have now signed the call for action – pushing well beyond the initial target of 50,000 – with more signatures expected.

Follow Jono’s progress on the live tracker and add your name at Swim4TheOcean.

Projected distance to go: 12.71km

Total distance covered: 1,354.12km

Swims at a glance – 2 April 

Swim 1 

Time:  3 hours 25 minutes
Distance: 11.41km
Average speed: 3.3km/h

Swim 2 

Time:  1 hours 50 minutes
Distance: 6.25km
Average speed: 3.4km/h