Cook Strait & Oceans 7 Done [Sea Bull - Lynton's Ocean 7]
First Australian & 12th in the World to Swim the Oceans Seven.
The Oceans Seven is a marathon swimming challenge consisting of the seven most difficult open water channel swims in the world. It was proposed in 2008 by Steven Munatones as the swimming equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. It has been described as “the ultimate physical & mental challenge - extreme cold, huge swells, strong currents & deadly marine life”.
I was fortunate to swim the Oceans 7 within 2 years & 2 months and complete the Triple Crown of Swimming within 3 months during that time. https://db.marathonswimmers.org/oceans-seven/
The Triple Crown consists of the English Channel, Catalina Channel & The 20 Bridges - the latter being a 47km race around Manhattan Island, New York, where I managed third place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Crown_of_Open_Water_Swimming
I completed Cook Strait, the last of my Oceans 7 swims, on 14 November 2018. It's the earliest Cook Strait crossing ever swum - the previous earliest and first ever Cook Strait crossing by local Barry Devonport was swum on 20 November 1962, a couple of years before I was born.
I'm now the first Australian and 12th person in the World to swim the Oceans 7. http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2018/11/indomitable-sea-bull-completes-oceans.html?fbclid=IwAR0uf56Kq_Ucm6d8V1glv_hu84j0Z6JvBYiLFPK2DV_YNHWp4YV5LYOt948.
The distances below are the actual kilometres swum, not as the crow flies. The swim distances are always longer due to being pushed around by swells & currents.
1. Gibraltar Strait 15/9/16 - 5hrs 12min - 17km
2. English Channel 30/6/17 - 12hrs 35min - 41.6km
3. North Channel 17/7/17 - 13hrs 49min - 41.3km
4. Catalina Channel 27/9/17 - 13hrs 59min - 33.7km
5. Molokai Channel 30/6/18 - 14hrs 49min - 45 km
6. Tsugaru Channel 13/8/18 - 9hrs 34min - 32km
7. Cook Strait 14/11/18 - 14hrs 14min - 32 km
Ocean swimming is the greatest team sport I have been lucky enough to be involved in. A truly international sport with no boundaries. A forever changing & volatile playing field where the deep seas push us at times to the edge of the envelope, where there are no limits.
Thank you to my beautiful amazing family for all their support, coach Trent Grimsey & brothers Ridge & Codie Grimsey, training buddies & swimming friends all over the world and to the amazing crews who supported on all the swims. https://www.grimseysadultswimfit.com/lynton-mortensen-oceans-seven/.
It has been a privilege to raise funds on some of the swims for the Children’s Hospital Foundation - thank you one and all for your generous donations. It was also poignant laying 41 poppies at the start and end of several swims to honour those service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. They shall not be forgotten - lest we forget.
Thank you also to everyone for your kind wishes following Cook Strait and other Ocean swims - I’m both humbled and appreciative.
If you need something to put you to sleep at night I‘ve put together a more detailed overview of the Cook Strait swim and some highlights and challenges of the Oceans 7 journey. I've also mentioned many of the special people involved along the way, there are too many to name, so thank you to one and all for your generous support.
Thanks to my number one support team, my beautiful family who were with me on all the Oceans 7 swims - my wife Lisa, sons Nicholas & Lachlan and daughter Angelique. What a thrilling ride it has been with the best cheer squad and support crew imaginable. I’m the luckiest husband and father in the world and am so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family. It’s been a blast. I love the motivation my family brings during the swims, but when it’s done there’s no time for rest as we’re straight into family time & lots of laughs, often at my expense I'm told to keep me grounded. Such a privilege to share so many wonderful experiences with the best family in the world - the crew who mean the most! Also to my best mate & Sister Dominique & her beautiful family for their undying support.
Forever grateful to the best team and work mates at HBM you could ever hope for! A special shout out to my PA Courtney for her incredible assistance with the fund raising.
So many amazing memories indelibly etched in the memory banks forever. Angie’s, “Daddy can we have a swim now”, when we arrived back to harbour after swimming the North Channel cracked me up & her jumping in the Tsugaru Channel and swimming side by side back to the boat was special. For Molokai, Lachie swimming with me out to the support boat at the start of the first ill-fated swim due to box jellies, then 10 days later Lisa & Nick swimming out to the boat for round two - watching the moon rise then set - Lisa holding fort on the boat while Nick swims into the beach with me to find Lachie & Angie waiting on the shore - my cheer squad surrounding me with love. Lisa preparing all my feeds at home before each swim and mixing them up on the boat with Nick or Lachie or Angie with military precision & timing. The boys kayaking beside me or on a support craft cheering me on & Angie with her beautiful smile when I looked up at the boat. After each swim the celebration of the team effort with the rest of the support crew. Too many great memories to recall all of them here.
Many thanks also to Coach & English Channel World Record holder Trent Grimsey - just a lazy 6hrs 55min for that crossing J. Trent was inducted into the prestigious International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2018. Understated & modest, Trent always has my back & never doubts I can complete any Channel swim I put my hand up for. When I asked whether he thought I'd be up to swim the English Channel & North Channel back to back, he quoted his old coach: - “Anything worth doing in life is worth overdoing”. When many others doubted, he said "Let’s lock in the English & North Channels and go for the double!" He always has the big picture in mind & how best it can be achieved with Grimsey morning or lunch pool sessions or writing a programme I can swim to fit in with work. Trent’s track record in getting so many swimmers across the Channel speaks for itself as he, Codie & Ridge go from strength to strength. The Grimsey’s run a brilliant Cold Water camp & would always go the extra yard to push you beyond your limits.
I was looking to kill two birds with one stone with the back to back crossings while I was in the UK - after all, it's a long way to go and after everything I'd heard about the North Channel being the toughest of them all I had a yearning and burning desire to take it on and get it done. I didn’t know before the swim, but on completion Padraig Mallon (Mr Infinity himself) worked out on the back of a beer coaster after too many pints of Guinness that my swims were the fastest turn around ever in completing English & North Channel crossings :)
What a privilege it’s been training with team Grimsey with so many incredible swimmers and great mates. Fast Fridays at 4.15am in the water with all the banter is always a laugh. It’s been brilliant watching all the Grimsey swim crew kicking their goals in & out of the pool over the last few years. Following that dot on the tracker watching other Channel swims by swimming mates has become addictive, willing them to the finish. The banter and commentary that goes with the swims is gold. All wanting the swimmer to succeed and passing on best wishes on those swims where the ocean dealt an uncompromising day and didn’t permit a crossing. Love the swimming tribe and the challenges that come with it.
It’s impossible to name everyone but a shout out to Brissie training mates over the years - Cam SB2, the two Sea Fillies Anna & Brit, Mal & Ferdy, Norman (Michael Powell), Karlie & Jane, Claire & Louise..... the Channel crew of 2018 and 2019 Channel swimmers, to name a few. A special mention to Mary Poppins (Anna), who I’ve been lucky enough to share some unique (others say crazy) swim experiences with this year - along with Amy from San Fran, she’s one of the toughest & crazy fun swimmers going around - always a laugh & a blast.
Still on the coaching front I am also forever grateful to Jae Marr, a more genuine guy you won’t meet, for including me in his squads & giving extra sets when I wasn’t able to make the Grimsey squad at Centenary Pool. Centenary is one of Brisbane’s iconic pools where we are always welcomed by the lovely ever smiling Jenny Green - a cracker swim destination which just won 2018 Facility of the Year!
Vlad Mravec (WOWSA 2018 Man of The Year Nominee), one of life’s great guys & coaches with an incredible stable of outstanding swimmers in Sydney, many of whom I have had the privilege of meeting or having a swim or two along the Aussie coastline. The first time this tropical water swimmer from Queensland experienced cold water swimming was on Vlad’s Cold Water Camp in Brighton a few years back. Vlad welcomed us Queenslanders like long lost friends. A genuine champ & worthy Nominee as WOWSA Man of The Year. Meet some great interstate swimmers there with a number on the way to their Ocean 7 in Dean & Rachael who had an incredible North Channel swim this year. Looking forward to watching Tom, Marty, Dean & others finish of their Ocean 7 challenge.
Chloe McCardel whose English Channel crossings speak for themselves - I attended Chloe’s Tasmania Cold Water Camp and was fortunate enough to pick up some great tips from her and as with all these camps meet so many incredible swimmers where lasting friendships are made. Meeting up with Jules, Kevin & Shreik and champion Shelley Taylor-Smith at 20 Bridges was also a treat given her amazing records amongst othersaround Manhattan Island over the years.
It wouldn’t be complete without mentioning my great international swimming friends and family. Our dear friends Jacqueline, Padraig & Milo from the amazing Infinity crew in Ireland. They're like a second family. Their generosity, support, love & friendship has no bounds & we are forever grateful to you all. Never a dull moment & always an absolute treat when we reunite. The North Channel crossing as tough as it is, was arguably my most enjoyable swim with my immediate family & my Irish family on board. Many words of Irish wisdom were dispensed along the way, much of which can’t be put into print J. Plenty of laughs during that splash made for a memorable day & it was straight to the pub when back to harbour to continue the laughs & celebrations. I've been thrown in with these amazing lovers of open water many times. Apart from the North Channel they crewed for me in Lanzarote, and I've attended several of their fantastic Infinity Cold Water Swim Camps (“Beyond Your Limits”) and we even attended an Irish wedding togetherfor the beautiful Steph & the not so handsome John J! Their generosity in teaching children to swim around the world also needs to be noted and acknowledged. Great friendships were made during the Infinity Cold Water Camps - Beyond Your Limits. I'd also like to mention The Chunky Dunkers in Donaghadee with Martin & crew & the Monster Dunkers in Lough Neagh with Chris (Bull), Gordy (Poet)& crew. Duck down the Coast a bit to the Forty Foot with old cheekiness himself Fergal Somerville & crew.
Dear friends & Mexican sisters Tona & Pilar - we enjoyed our first Channel crossing together on the Gibraltar Strait. While on the Mexican front thanks to Antonio Arguelles, an amazing open water swimmer for his support & amazing Sea Bull swim caps he kindly made up for me. Very generous. Been wearing them proudly Antonio.
Let’s rip across to California to our dear mates in San Fran at SERC – Nadadores Locos. Always a wild ride guys & gals - Andrew, John, Kirk, Reptile, Robin, Patrick & the amazing Amy – so many fun times and swims in San Fran & Ireland with this irrepressible gang! - can’t wait for our splash in 2019 Amy with the gang kindly & generously crewing - should I be excited or afraid J! Of course super congrats to number 11 Oceans 7 and Mr Barbados himself Cameron Bellamy.
Cheers Cecile & Roger in the massage department; Richard physio & Dan for keeping the old body together & not falling apart.
Cheers Cecile & Roger in the massage department; Richard physio & Dan for keeping the old body together & not falling apart.
There are so many more people to thank for their help, support & friendship along the way & if I mentioned you all the list would be as long as my arm. You know who you are - I am forever grateful.
I’ve been so fortunate to have so many amazing pilots & paddlers - again, too many to name, but the Brickells on Viking Princess with the English Channel master Tim Denyer, Terry O’Malley paddler extraordinaire on 20 Bridges where I meet mate Diego Lopez (Global Swimmer) who is doing amazing swims & works to protect our oceans from the plastic scourge. Michael Twigg-Smith & Shelley Oates-Wilding the dynamic duo on Molokai - we enjoyed Molokai so much we did it twice J. Captain Ito coming to the rescue with his fishing trawler on Tsugaru Channel when original Captain had an accident with his boat the night before.I was fortunate enough to swim with mate and champion German swimmer Matthias Kabner while waiting for the Tsugaru crossing and a recovery swim after.
Thanks to Kyle Timms piloting on a number of my fundraising Rottnest swims;Sarah-Jane &Tatiana my champion Rotto & Port to Pub paddlers who are aces. Huge cheers to school mate Steve Grant who crewed one of my Rotto swims and who piloted on of my10+hour training swims along with my son Lachie, from Snapper Rocks to Main Beach on the Gold Coast, before the Molokai crossing. Andrew paddling & following me around 8hrs on the cold Tassie waters. Thanks also to my 1981 Terrace cohort & mates who gave generously to fund raising and for their messages of support along the way – a brilliant bunch of guyswith a unique bond after all these years - cheers particularly to Bobby , Jason & Howie, Cous, Leggsy,Robbie & Mark Ryan for the support & wit along the way; usually at my expenseJ. Same for incredible friends Justin & Malcolm & their magnificent families. Legends !
Last but by no means least thanks to the legendary Philip Rush. One of the all-time great open water swimmers still holding the world record for the fastest two & three way English Channel crossings & double crossing of the Cook Strait. I put my name down for Cook Strait in early 2016. Over 2 years later we got across, but not without a few trials & tribulations along the way.....which leads me to The Cook Strait Chronicles as follows........
I was locked in to swim Cook Strait March this year and worked a two week family holiday around it. Windy Wellington proved true to its name. We didn’t even get a start during the whole 2 weeks - it was blown out every day! That huge wind tunnel between the mountains of the North Island & South Island was in full force so we were confined to the craft beer pubs around town. The Cook Strait is part of the Westerly wind belt known as the Roaring Forties - and roar it did! Poseidon would not play ball for even one day of those two weeks. Friends Simeon & Dianna & son William, one of Nick’s school buddies, had come over with Simo intending to kindly crew for us. It was not to be but was a great break.
Next month an opportunity presented with a very small one day window for a crossing. It was FIFO (fly in fly out) opportunity. Having received a lunch call from Phil I rushed to the airport and flew out that afternoon with good mate & crewman Jim Hefferan. I called Jim after Phil’s call - “Jimbo, want to fly to Wellington tonight & crew for me tomorrow?” We were on a 5.00pm flight, arrived Wellington at 12.30am, to Phil’s place to set up, grab a snooze between 2.00am- 3.00am and to the harbour at 4.00am - the excitement and anticipation of a Cook Strait crossing diminished when we arrived at the harbour - the roaring forties kicked in against all predictions, blowing the wind socks & wind wheels attached to the boats in the harbour - our pilot said it would be irresponsible if he took us out in those conditions - a chorus of wind blasts made that clear. Strike two! So back to town, regrouped & fly back to Bris within 24 hours.
There were no windows for a Cook Strait crossing for many months after that as the wind chill and water temperature dropped to unacceptable levels. So the waiting game with the Cook Strait continued. It looked possible that we might get a chance later in the year if the weather Gods played nice. Meanwhile, I completed the Molokai Channel & Tsugaru Channel. Molokai was probably the most eventful. I spent two days in intensive care on a morphine drip & ketamine after standing on a stonefish at Snapper Rocks only two weeks before swimming Molokai. We flew Brisbane, Sydney, Honolulu, Molokai, grabbed a taxis to the beach & jumped in on dusk to start the 47km crossing. I was within 4km of finishing when I was stung all over by box jellyfish. With an ambulance waiting, I was rushed to hospital for more morphine….a lucky escape. Ten days later I went back and confronted the Molokai beast, also known as The Channel of the Bones - a very emotional finish. Only 3 box jellyfish stings on that swim, thankfully all stings were many hours a part. I am indebted to Dr Angel Yanagihara for her box jellyfish creams, spray and treatment which were invaluable on the second successful swim.
With Molokai and Tsugaru done, it was just Cook Strait still to go...…
The Cook Strait - wow - 14 hrs 14min over 32km + swim is one of my toughest swims to date. Swim start was at 6.45am on 14 November and was the earliest Cook Strait crossing ever swum. Barrie Devenport a NZ swimmer & lifesaver was the first person in modern history to swim Cook Strait on 20 November 1962.
Third time lucky, hoping to at least get wet this time. The opportunity presented when least prepared and not ready - just about the worst taper ever JWouldn’t recommend it. Had just been away celebrating my beautiful bride Lisa’s significant “o” birthday & surprise B’day party with family and a few friends Monday 12 November. I received an email from Philip on Lisa’s birthday day asking me to give him a call - I dropped him a note advising I was on a plane back to Bris from Sydney then going to Lisa's surprise party - I couldn’t say anything to Lisa about the contact - it was all about her that day and night, the one day she need not hear about swimming! I looked at my phone late that night after the party with another message from Phil - “mate don’t drink too much tonight, pack & take to work - Wednesday swim is looking OK”......."Too late" was my reply.
Tuesday morning at work I received an 11.00am call from Philip confirming there was a possible one day window on Wednesday - I mentioned this to my HBM partners at work who have been incredibly supportive along this journey. They kicked me home while my travel agent Melanie Clout, an absolute pro with last minute bookings, sorted flights while I put my kit together with the rest of the family & dashed to the airport. Sadly eldest son Nick who had crewed on 5 of myother Channel crossings had work keeping him home so couldn’t join us, but drove us to the airport on time……oh, and mate Jim after the 11.30am call that morning, met us at the airport for the late afternoon flight. Third time lucky for Jimbo who landed in London just as I commenced my English Channel swim and so missed crewing by the proverbial ……& as with the second visit for Cook. We had to get away this time! When Jim arrived at the airport with 50min till boarding, he found the family laughing hysterically with our travel agent on the phone………..laughing because there was literally no accommodation in Wellington that night & we had nowhere to stay!…………..Philip Rush came to the rescue, met us at the airport at 12.30am & kindly let us crash at his place - we got there 1.30am - in bed by 2.00am & up at 3.00am & away to the harbour at 4.00am - boarded the boat & in the water to start at 6.45am. What a 72 hours!
The Cook Strait swim was from the North to South Islands and proved to be one of my toughest, if not the toughest swim to date. One thing I’ve learnt in ocean swimming is to take nothing for granted, respect the ocean & it ‘aint over until you run out of water! The start of the swim was Ohaw Point & the finish lineended up at the back of Parma Head. You can never predict with any certainty the time it will take to complete a swim - it is what it is and cannot be otherwise on the day - some days good, some days average, some days brutal & other days horrific - Poseidon dishes it all up - that’s the challenge & fun of ocean swimming - I love the more challenging conditions, you know you’re alive. Philip estimated maybe an 8.5 hour swim if the conditions played out & based on that I was happy to build in a 10 hour swim with the usual vicissitudes of ocean swimming…………..ha……..14hrs 14min later we finished the Cook Strait & my Oceans 7 in the dark. We didn’t get back to harbour until just before midnight & celebrated with the family & Philip at 1.00am in the local service station over McDonalds. I thought my days of enjoying McDonalds were over, but after feeding on mainly liquids all day it tasted magnificent!
The swim was punctuated with a kaleidoscope of emotions and conditions. The Cook Strait is a big challenge as proved on this swim with currents wreaking havoc along the way. No Great White sightings - missed out on the one in six statistic of an encounter, but at one stage there were hundreds of dolphins with a few spinning and turning just below me, so close I could almost touch them. Certainly a highlight of the swim but not the only one. The biggest highlight was during one of my feeds when Philip says, “Do you want a meet pie & sauce?”……...."Bloody oath mate!" came the reply. Well that’s a first I yelled:-“Manna from Heaven” as I hoovered it down. Wow, that will now be on the menu for future swims. Tara Diversi, a brilliant nutritionist for Channel swimmers, has been a wonderful support on this swim journey - the meat pie I think she’ll forgive along with the jam sandwiches. Funnily enough, after my first Rottnest swim she said “I think you'll be an Oceans 7 swimmer’. I didn’t even know what the Oceans 7 was at the time. A blink of an eye and here we are……
It was touch and go at times out on the Cook Strait, with the family relaying it as the most stressful & tense swim of all. The currents played havoc and weren’t meant to be doing what they were doing - at one stage I was swimming on the spot for close to 2 hours and went back at one stage. At about the 3/4 mark the pilot and navigator weren’t hopeful of getting across. Philip delivered the bad news and told me the swim may have to be called off - I replied with "You must be joking old chap"………well perhaps I wasn’t that polite! After my less than enthusiastic response to being told the swim might have to be called off, Philip said he’d give me another hour and see from there. I dug deep and swam what felt like one of the hardest and fastest hours I have ever swum in my Ocean 7 journey – it was up there with the sprint at the end of the last 2-3km of my North Channel swim……… the momentum swung back our way & we started to break through this impasse. I can still see Philip, and before him Lachie, yelling & whistling & cheering me on, lifting my spirits to battle on through it. We made it! We had broken through. Just 3 km to go - aim for the scar in front on the Island said Philip. A bit of slack water at last for a few hundred metres and we should be finished in another hour……….. well it ain't over until you run out of water and the Cook Strait decided it was going to have more fun with us and make us work for it until the last.
The last 3km I was being pushed sideways along the coast so it took almost three hours to finish it off - brutal! When I finally touched the swell literally dumped me & flipped me on a rocky ledge - the water was turgent and swirling aggressively in the dark - getting off the ledge was hairy but I did it unscathed. I sprinted across the churning current and made it to the RIB. With Joe steering as he had done brilliantly throughout the day. Philip grabbed one of my hands while I held onto the RIB best I could with the other, we reversed back to the pilot boat with me dragging in the water like shark bait! Can’t thank Philip & his crew enough for their incredible support along with my magic family. In a perverse way I was glad it was so challenging & difficult - a right and fitting way to swim the Cook Strait and finish the Oceans 7. It felt well earnt.
On this journey it was a privilege to help raise just over $71,000.00 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation across some of the swims. Thank you to everyone who so generously donated both their time and money to this wonderful cause. I meet so many selfless people who so generously give their time in helping these beautiful children. The kidsdo it so much tougher than anything we do out on the ocean. Cooper & Scott you two little Angels are always remembered &always with me on all the swims.
Also a moment to remember those courageous service men & woman who have made the ultimate sacrifice is something never far from thought, with 41 poppies laid at the beginning and end of my North Channel, Catalina & 20 Bridges swims. Lest we forget. A shout out to Brian & Mal for maintaining the awareness and to all other incredible champions who champion the fallen and their families.
Looking forward to 2019 and what the ocean brings with it.