Show Notes
It’s a swim literature episode! Featuring John Hancock, who told us the colourful life story of Sir Bernard Freyberg and his wartime swim. This time John and Shona talk about: The “mad, bad and dangerous to know” poet Lord Byron’s 1810 swim across the Dardanelles (formerly the Hellespont, between Europe and Asia). Lord Byron was inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Leander, who swam across the same body of water to his lover Hero’s lantern-lit tower each night. Byron recounted his swim triumph in his poem ‘Don Juan’.
The Old English poem Beowulf, whose protagonist spent a week in the freezing Scandinavian ocean, first competing with his childhood friend Breca and then fighting off ‘sea monsters’.
Much more recently, British writer Roger Deakin’s series of swims across Britain, captured in his beautiful book Waterlog (1999). Deakin is considered by many to be the founding father of the modern ‘wild swimming’ movement.
John and Shona do some readings from the texts above (extra points to John for managing some Old English). John also talks about the book Haunts of the Black Masseur: the Swimmer as Hero by Charles Sprawson (1992). We’re keen to know what you think of this episode! Leave a comment or email swimchatswithshona at gmail dot com. * In the introduction Shona talks about Ben Knight, a Wellington ocean advocate and protector who sadly passed away this month. Over the years Ben worked with Mountains to Sea Wellington and Sustainable Coastlines, which posted a lovely tribute to Ben on Facebook with some conservation figures that demonstrate his incredible legacy. Thank you, Ben. You have inspired many of us.
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More from Swim Chats
Sarah Thomas is the only person in the world to have swum four ways non-stop across the English Channel. Her quadruple crossing in 2019, at the age of 37, was over 200km and took 54 hours. Even more incredibly, Sarah had undergone extensive treatment for breast cancer just one year earlier. Sarah has achieved many other epic swims as well, including the world’s first double crossing of the North Channel and the first current-neutral swim over 100 miles. In this episode we also talk about her first 10km event, the allure of scary swims, her wild and “essential” crossing of the Cook Strait, the power of peanut M&Ms, whether she might return to NZ, and much more. Visit Sarah's website sarahthomasswims.com Follow Sarah on Instagram (@sarahswims04) * Visit StokedNZ for your towelies and get 15% off with the discount code SWIMCHATS Enjoy the podcast? Buy me a coffee via https://ko-fi.com/swimchats Become a Swim Buddy via Patreon.com/SwimChats Follow Swim Chats on Instagram Contact me at swimchatswithshona at gmail dot com Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)
Benoit (Ben) Lavigne is a Wellington swim coach. Through his company, Outpace Swimming, he offers private coaching, swim squads, video analysis, clinics, open water training, and swim camps. Ben is also the Head Coach at Tawa Swim Club and was selected as a coach for Swimming New Zealand's Under 19 Team at the 2026 Tri Series in Western Australia. In this episode, Ben talks about his coaching method, offers technique advice, and shares his own swim journey – from a small child in France who was terrified of the water, to becoming a national-level swimmer and then a coach. Ben has continued to learn, adapt, and innovate over his decades-long coaching career. His enjoyment and fascination with swimming remains strong, he is a caring and dedicated coach, and is a valued part of Wellington’s swim community.
What: Ignite Freshwater Swim Fest Where: Lake Pupuke / Pupukemoana, Auckland When: February 13–14, 2027 Scott Rice is back on Swim Chats this month to talk about a brand-new swim event coming next summer: the Ignite Freshwater Swim Fest! It will be a fun weekend for the whole family in February, offering a range of swim distances to suit all abilities (250m to 10km), live music, food stalls, the first NZ Doggy Swim Champs (a 100m swim with your pawsome pal), a 4x500m relay, three national swim championships, and much more. The event's charity partner is Live Ocean and the swim 'ambassadors' who will be attending include gold medallist Lewis Clareburt, ultramarathon swimmer Jono Ridler, Auramove's Laura Quilter, TVNZ's Wendy Petrie, and former All Black Ian Jones. Scott is passionate about running safe, inclusive, and feel-good events that, as he puts it, are a "celebration of swimming". He founded the NZ Ocean Swim Series, and now runs the Z Manu World Champs and Ocean Swim Fiji. Learn more about the swim festival and get your earlybird entries via the Ignite Freshwater Swim Fest website. * Visit StokedNZ for your towelies and get 15% off with the discount code SWIMCHATS Enjoy the podcast? Buy me a coffee via https://ko-fi.com/swimchats Become a Swim Buddy via Patreon.com/SwimChats Follow Swim Chats on Instagram Contact me at swimchatswithshona at gmail dot com Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)
When Wellington’s school pools began disappearing, Steve Hind decided to do something about it. The result was the Aquadome a thriving community swimming facility that opened in 2018. In 2009, Steve noticed a decline in the number of school pools in the region. Both of his daughters attended Wellington East Girls’ College and there was an unused pool on the grounds. The council pools were busy at peak times, so Steve and Gary Hurring, a former NZ swim champion, decided to restore the college pool. As Steve explains: “It felt like everything just came together. It became obvious to us that we should get it heated, get it covered – at the time it was just a hole in the ground. We set off with very naive ideas of the cost … we pitched it to the school originally as $200,000 but in the end it was over $1.5 million.” The restored, indoor Aquadome opened in 2018 with a warm-water training pool and a 25m heated lap pool with six lanes, as well as new changing rooms and showers. The Wellington Swim Trust oversees the pool to keep it running and it's used by several primary schools, local colleges, and community groups. In this episode Steve explains what compelled him and Gary to take on this massive project, how they raised the money (there was an unexpected donation of UHT milk), how the Trust keeps the pool running, and why it’s so important for kids to have accessible spaces to learn to swim and train for events. Steve’s daughter Tash was a double Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist, while his daughter Georgia has represented NZ in open water swimming and surf lifesaving – both have worked as swim coaches at the Aquadome. Visit the Swim Trust website for more information about the Aquadome. Photo: The Aquadome indoor swimming pool in Wellington (Steve Hind) * Visit StokedNZ for your towelies and get 15% off with the discount code SWIMCHATS Enjoy the podcast? Buy me a coffee via https://ko-fi.com/swimchats Become a Swim Buddy via Patreon.com/SwimChats Follow Swim Chats on Instagram Contact me at swimchatswithshona at gmail dot com Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)
SwimRun events involve a consecutive series of swims and runs, with no stops or gear changes. You can be tethered to another person, or do it solo. The swims are open water and the runs are on trails, across islands or around bays and headlands. Returning guest John Hancock is an avid SwimRunner and has participated in several events around the world, including in Sweden (the home of SwimRun) and Australia. He's also created the Facebook group NZ SwimRun for the local SwimRun community, with tips and articles. In this episode, John explains: How SwimRun got started and how it's evolved into a series of popular events around the world The gear and swim aids used by SwimRunners (some necessary, most optional) including short wetsuits, vests, running shoes, neoprene socks, a tether and belt, paddles and pull buoys The logistics involved in swimming then running then swimming then running The NZ Amphibian SwimRun event happening in April 2027 (two distance options) in the Bay of Islands The popularity of SwimRun Australia and its events in Sydney and Melbourne Why any swimmer would consider running (a genuine if slightly facetious question from me)