A 60-year-old Bay of Plenty man has failed in his bid to become the oldest to swim the Cook Strait.
Mike Bodger was pulled from the sea tonight, after battling fierce winds just off the coast of the North Island.
The Whakatane local set out at 7.30am this morning, 5km north of Perano Point at the top of the South Island.
Mr Bodger was just 6km from shore when he was pulled from the waves – the high winds and strong seas proving too much for the veteran swimmer.
A member of the support crew, Philip Rush, said after swimming for nine hours and 22 minutes, Mr Bodger was within 5.9km of the shore when he started going backwards.
“He was incredibly tired, the weather wasn’t favourable, we ended up with 25 knots of wind out there,” says Mr Rush.
“It was very unfortunate.”
Mr Bodger is said to be “philosophical” about the attempt.
“He’s 60-years-old, we had to have a good day and we did – up until 1pm – have an absolutely outstanding day, but it turned more than it should have,” says Mr Rush.
It is not known whether Mr Bodger will attempt the swim again, but Mr Rush says realistically “he can do it”.
There have only been 74 strait crossings by 64 swimmers since 1963. Tough weather conditions have been identified as part of the reason there have not been more successful attempts.
Mr Bodger was today challenging the record held by Pam Dickson, who made the swim at age 55. She completed it in nine hours, 23 minutes and 10 seconds in March last year.
Barrie Devonport was the first person to swim Cook Strait in 1962.
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