The 31-year-old Andy Donaldson swam through the night to complete the 23km course in four hours and thirty-three minutes. A Scotsman has established a new world record for the fastest swim across the shark-infested Cook Strait, which separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
It was the third leg of the Oceans Seven challenge’s seven legs.
The man from Ayrshire has previously broken the British record for swimming the English Channel and is the first male Scot to swim from Ireland to Scotland.
He waited over three weeks for favorable wind conditions before departing Wellington, New Zealand’s North Island’s southernmost city, at midnight on March 7th.
The body of water across from Picton, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island, is notorious for its great white sharks and high tides.
With only “a pair of Speedos, goggles, and a swim hat” – competitors are not permitted to use wetsuits – Donaldson described swimming under the moon and stars as “quite strange.”
Only four minutes separated him from the previous record, which had stood for fifteen years.
“For something of that distance to come down to the wire like that made for a thrilling and nerve-wracking finish,” he told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme. “Fortunately, I finished under the old time.”
“The Cook Strait presents its own challenges. As anyone who has been to Wellington can attest, it’s incredibly windy there, and the weather in that canal nearly serves as a wind tunnel.
“It is also highly tidal, and the temperatures were likely comparable to those at home in Scotland, around 14 degrees Celsius.
“I was exposed to that frigid water for an extended period of time, but luckily I survived with all of my limbs intact.
“Swimming in the dark was a nerve-racking experience, but we could not have had a nicer swim.”
The Oceans Seven includes the toughest and most renowned channel swims in the world, with distances ranging from 20 km to 44 km.
Andy, a native of West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, aims to finish all seven legs of the 200km challenge in a single year, a feat never before accomplished.
In August of last year, he swam the English Channel in eight hours to beat a British record that had stood for 25 years. In September, he swam the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Portpatrick in nine hours.
During a 10-day window in April, he will attempt to swim the 42-kilometer Molokai Channel in Hawaii.
Andy, who learned to swim at a pool in Largs, stated that he had extensive cold water acclimatization before his most recent effort.
“This is one of the most difficult aspects of all these swims,” he remarked. “The same held true for the English Channel. They have extremely traditional regulations based on the first person to do it, so I used lanolin and lathered up beforehand.
“The best way to prepare is to swim in cold water and truly acclimate to the conditions. If you are unprepared, it can have a profound effect on you and practically shut down your body.”
Andy, a former competitive pool swimmer who won national medals in the 200-meter freestyle, converted to open-water swimming 10 years ago after moving to Perth, Australia.
Motivated by his Scottish grandfather, who “seriously struggled with depression,” Andy is raising funds for the Black Dog Institute, an Australian mental health organization.
“Hopefully, the next swim in Hawaii will be warmer, and we will be able to complete it safely. They all have their own distinct issues,” he continued.
“We are simply doing our best to raise funds for mental health; this is the reason behind all of this.”
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