Right in the deep end
By MELANIE VERRAN - East And Bays Courier
SWIM CHALLENGE: Craig Hughes, 18, will compete in the harbour crossing tomorrow as part of his journey to a career in the navy.
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Ten months ago Craig Hughes could barely swim 25 metres but tomorrow heâs testing his stamina with a swim across the Waitemata Harbour.
The 18-year-old is one of more than 1400 people taking part in the 2.8km harbour crossing, the first event of the Ocean Swim Series.
He signed up for the challenge as part of an independent project year 13s have to complete at Michael Park School.
"I decided to check out the ocean swim because next year I’m hoping to join the navy and swimming wasn’t my strong point so I wanted to fix that," he says.
The Mt Wellington teen’s swimming experience was limited to a few lessons as a kid, which he gave up after deciding he "wasn’t that good".
"At the beginning of the year I could only do one length so it wasn’t going to get me very far in the swim. But now I can do about 3km, which is 120 laps."
Craig has been training at Swimarama in Panmure, as well as running and lifting weights, using a training programme he designed that ties in with his physical education studies.
He hopes to swim from Bayswater to the Viaduct in an hour and a half.
"I’m pretty nervous but I should be all right in the end if I just pace myself," he says.
The sports enthusiast has had his sights set on a naval career since being overawed by the ships in the harbour as a 10-year-old. He was among 40 teenagers to take part in a week-long navy technical adventure challenge last year which introduced them to different naval careers.
Craig hopes to be accepted to train as a navy diver in January.
The harbour crossing is New Zealand’s biggest ocean swim. The race starts at 10.30am, with a prizegiving at 12.30pm at Te Wero Island, Auckland Viaduct.
