A strait fight to the finish
A ‘‘nastyWellington southerly’’ and a dose of hypothermia could not stop Brett Richardson from becoming the 131st person to conquer Cook Strait.
Proudly wearing green speedos, the colours of the Titahi Bay Surf Club, Richardson was dragged out of thewater after 10hours and 20minutes suffering from severe hypothermia.
Battling numbing coldness and sore shoulders, he was delighted to be told by swimcoach PhillipRush he hadmade it.
‘‘Thosewere the best words I had heard all day,’’ the 54-year-old said.
Richardson set off fromWellington’s Ohau Point on Tuesday at 9.46am.
Cook Strait is considered one of the toughest ocean swims in the world. It was first conquered by Barrie Devenport in 1962. Success requires a lot of luck around weather, tides and temperatures.
Rush, who holds the record for the most crossings, said the most common reasons for failurewas a lack of fitness, changing weather or the swimmer becoming too hypothermic to continue.
He said that in the week before Richardson’s swima ‘‘nastyWellington southerly’’ had cooled the surface temperature in the strait. However, high temperatures and a sunny day on Monday created a weatherwindow for Richardson to attempt the swim.
‘‘With the water temperature in the correct range, little swell and a lower tide to hold the course, it was too good an opportunity tomiss, so on the night before we decided to proceed,’’ says Rush.
To build the necessary stamina, Richardson completed a gruelling training regime, with eight swims in the pool each week, with each session lasting up to five hours.
Once he was in thewater and greased
up to help battle the chilling cold, the biggest hurdle was dealing with hypothermia.
After seven hours, Rush asked Richardson to rate his level of coldness from 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst.
‘‘I could not actually answer the question because the energy it was going to takemeant it was too hard to work out,’’ Richardson told Stuff.
Instead of answering, Richardson began swimming again and at the next food stop told Rush hewas a seven.
If he had replied eight, Rush would have pulled himfrom thewater.
‘‘I was not aware of how hypothermic I was. I was cold but everyone swimming [Cook Strait] comes out hypothermic, it is just amatter towhat degree.’’
His successful swimhas been a long time coming. He first thought of the possibility in 1978 when school girlMeda McKenzie achieved the feat, aged 15.
‘‘I remember as a boy thinking: how is that evenpossible?’’
Titahi Bay Surf Life Saving Club chairperson JohnWesley-Smith said the clubwas thrilledwith Richardson’s success.
‘‘Brett is one of those special people who is always willing to volunteer and help out … Sowe were all so excited and proud to see himachieve his Everest.’’