Three of seven: the Cook Strait – a race against currents, cold and time
Andreas Waschburger completes his third challenge – Cook Strait, New Zealand
By crossing the Cook Strait in New Zealand, Andreas Waschburger has completed another chapter in his Ocean’s Seven project. The third instalment of this unique challenge marks another vital milestone in his journey towards conquering the world’s most demanding channel swims.
On Tuesday morning (25 March 2025) New Zealand local time, Waschi dived into the cold waters (15 to 16 degrees) of the Cook Strait. Under the experienced guidance of his skipper Philip Rush, he set out from South Island and crossed the strait in a remarkable time of 5 hours, 13 minutes and 57 seconds.
A battle against the elements and time
Patience required: This attempt to cross the Cook Strait was hampered by uncertain weather. The time window for starting ran from 20 to 26 March. The start was preceded by several days of waiting and watching: stormy winds and the vagaries of the tides made it impossible to set off any earlier. Andreas and his team had to wait patiently until the conditions finally allowed him to hit the water on 25 March, shortly before the end of his slot.
Early start: After intensive preparations, the challenge kicked off at 7:30 a.m. with a ninety-minute crossing from ‘Mana Cruising Club’ on North Island to the starting point on South Island. This is where Waschi’s battle against the forces of nature then began. Right from the outset, strong countercurrents called for huge physical and mental strength. Although Waschburger was under the world record for the first half of the stretch, the currents in the last five kilometres were so strong that Andreas felt like he was swimming on the spot – a battle against nature, with the primary goal being just to reach the finish line. As he said himself:
It stretched out like chewing gum, and for a short time I was worried that I would be defeated like other swimmers before me.
Unstoppable: Even a tsunami warning could not knock the team off track – during the attempt, an earthquake with a magnitude of around 6.7 was detected 160 km off the southern coast of South Island, which fortunately did not have any serious consequences.
Overall result is what counts: Despite these conditions, Andreas reached North Island in a fantastic time of 5:13:57 hours to complete a distance of 24.6 km. Although he did not manage to beat the world record this time, Andreas is pursuing a bigger goal: the fastest overall time for the Ocean’s Seven. With three out of seven complete, he is leading by a margin of six hours, so his strategy is paying off. As he himself said after the swim:
I am confident that we can break this overall record with the right strategy. My goal was to get through it safely and write a new chapter in the Ocean’s Seven story.
An exciting side note
A total of four swimmers were out in the Cook Strait on the same day – a rare situation reflecting the intense conditions. The poor weather on the days before meant that numerous swimmers’ time slots overlapped. A tracking tool allowed spectators to follow the routes of all the swimmers and see how the currents and tides affected each crossing attempt. The shortest route – the quickest line between the two islands – is 22 km. Waschi swam 24.6 km due to currents.
Achieving their goal together
This project is fuelled by team spirit. As well as support from HYLO® as his main sponsor, numerous experts such as coaches, nutritionists and physiotherapists also helped Waschi perform at his peak once again. Particularly worthy of mention is the local expertise of Philip Rush and his team, who played a major role in Andreas managing to overcome the unpredictable currents in the Cook Strait.
Ocean’s Seven
The Ultimate Challenge for Andreas Waschburger
Everything about the previous world records, insights into the trials and further updates can be found here in the overview.
The journey continues
Andreas and his team do not have much time to pause for breath: after returning to Saarland on Sunday, he will need to head out again on Friday (4 April) – this time to Gibraltar, where his next starting window awaits from Monday 7 April. The Strait of Gibraltar, the gap between Europe and Africa, will be the fourth of seven stages in his Ocean’s Seven adventure.
Mission four of seven is already in the starting blocks – and Andreas is ready for his next challenge.