Australia’s most notorious ocean swim to proceed despite mass rescue

The nation’s most daunting and dangerous open-water swim will proceed on Saturday despite a major investigation into several swimmers being swept into Bass Strait during a training camp last year.

More than 70 intrepid swimmers are expected to make the 3.5-kilometre crossing from Point Nepean to Point Lonsdale, despite warnings from those who almost lost their lives in the notorious stretch of water last April.

The event, known as the Rip Swim, was only granted a permit by Parks Victoria on Friday, according to founder and organiser Grant Siedle, who said he had implemented the “most robust safety operation to date”, which includes 11 rescue boats, several jet-skis, nine kayakers and a large emergency-management vessel with a paramedic.

Siedle said he took full responsibility for the “very unfortunate incident” last year, which required emergency rescues by Port Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club, Queenscliff Coast Guard and a pilot boat that saved Sarah Hingston as she drifted more than three kilometres from land.

Hingston said it was remarkable that none of the 17 swimmers drowned, after they were dragged out to sea by the treacherous tide. Many in the group had previously completed the Rip Swim, while some were preparing for the winter crossing that bans participants from wearing wetsuits.

“The reality is someone should have died that day, and it’s an absolute miracle we’re all OK. We’re so lucky,” she said.

Hingston, 43, said last year’s training swim was supposed to be a 45-minute session to help participants acclimatise to the frigid waters near the heads of Port Phillip Bay.

However, Hingston said the strength of the tide was underestimated by Siedle, who was one of three kayakers supporting the pod of experienced swimmers.

“Quickly it unravelled, and I became separated from the group and I found myself alone. I spent almost an hour treading water after being taken about three kilometres into Bass Strait. I survived because I’m a strong swimmer, and I’m used to cold water and I stayed calm,” she said.

She credits the seafaring skills of a pilot boat captain, who had heard about the incident on the radio and noticed Hingston’s arm as she crested a five-metre wave.

‘It’s an absolute miracle that no one died, and it’s been an incredibly traumatic experience for all of us.’

Swimmer Jane Betts on last April’s training session

The mother of two said the near-death experience had left her deeply traumatised and prompted her to revise her cavalier approach to ocean swimming.

“I won’t go in the water now without a wetsuit. I won’t go deep, and I won’t swim in rough conditions. It’s given me a different perspective, for sure,” she said.

To compete, all participants in the Rip Swim must be experienced ocean swimmers with evidence of being able to swim three kilometres in under 54 minutes on their own, or under 66 minutes as part of a team. They pay a registration fee of between $650 and $750.

Hingston said she had mixed emotions about the Rip Swim proceeding on Saturday, after last year’s winter crossing was cancelled because of a five-month investigation by Safe Transport Victoria.

“I’ve done the swim before and had such a positive experience, and I don’t want to deny others from the same experience. But what happened to us last year needs to be taken extremely seriously and shows how quickly things can escalate. It’s one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world,” she said.

When the tide changes at the heads, about one cubic kilometre of water is forced through the bottleneck entrance to Port Phillip Bay, which has sunk more than 30 vessels over the past 200 years. In 1960, The Rip claimed the lives of three army commandos, who drowned during a training exercise.

The narrow gap between the heads is also the entrance to one the busiest shipping thoroughfares in the world, while commercial fishermen once referred to the area as “shark alley”.

Jane Betts successfully traversed the rip with Siedle and his support team in February 2025, and almost immediately began preparing for last year’s scheduled winter crossing.

The 57-year-old also attended the ill-fated training camp last year and is still grappling with the psychological fallout. She still recalls the waters off Point Lonsdale appearing calm when the group entered the water just after midday on April 5.

“Grant [Siedle] got us to swim on an outgoing tide in an outgoing direction. Then he suddenly realised we were in trouble, and he said, ‘It’s going to get a bit hairy, and you need to swim as hard as you can back towards the beach’,” Betts said.

“If you look at data from my watch, I was actually going backwards despite swimming as hard as I could. I suddenly realised I was on my own. I totally thought at that point that I was probably going to die. I sat up in the water and screamed for help, and then I realised no one could hear me.”

Betts said that after thrashing against the current for more than 30 minutes, she made it to a rocky outcrop near the entrance of the bay. She and three other swimmers were rescued by members of the Point Lonsdale SLSC, who fortuitously had been training in inflatable rescue vessels.

‘I would like the report from Safety Transport Victoria to be made public to help us understand why this event has allowed to proceed on Saturday.’

Borough of Queenscliffe Deputy Mayor Di Rule

Betts said she was unlikely to swim across The Rip again, unless there was significant evidence that Siedle and his swimming tours company had improved safety protocols for the event.

“It’s an absolute miracle that no one died, and it’s been an incredibly traumatic experience for all of us,” she said.

But another swimmer, who was also plucked from a reef by lifesavers, said there should be a voluntary assumption of risk for anyone participating in open-water swimming events.

“I don’t want to talk on the record because I know some people’s experiences from that day are rather elevated,” the woman said.

“But I have a surf background and the minute you step off the sand and head into the water, you know that you’re in an unpredictable environment.”

Carrie Thomas was also rescued by lifesavers during last year’s training swim, after realising she was unable to make it back to shore. The 62-year-old had been in the water for more than an hour, until she was spotted by a helicopter.

Thomas said regular chats with other swimmers affected by the incident had helped her cope, but she said she had become increasingly frustrated by the secrecy surrounding the Safe Transport Victoria investigation.

The government agency has denied public access to the report that was finalised in September, while also refusing a request made by Thomas under freedom of information laws.

A spokeswoman for Safe Transport Victoria did not respond to questions from this masthead, but said the agency had “published clear guidelines for events at Port Phillip Heads, which set out safety expectations and considerations for event organisers and assessing authorities”.

However, Borough of Queenscliffe Deputy Mayor Di Rule has called for the report to be made public. She said the council had been denied access to the report and its findings.

Rule said she witnessed the swimmers being swept out to sea last year and the recovery mission, and has since heard stories of other participants in the Rip Swim being swept kilometres off course towards Queenscliff, or pulled from the water suffering from hypothermia.

“I’m very anxious because there are so many examples of near misses and the training swim in April last year was a shocking thing to witness. I would like the report from Safety Transport Victoria to be made public to help us understand why this event has allowed to proceed on Saturday,” she said.

A Parks Victoria spokesman confirmed the swim would go ahead on February 7.

“We are aware of the incident in April last year, which was investigated by Safe Transport Victoria (STV). The organiser has provided improved safety measures, independently reviewed by an accredited risk consultant, and met the conditions for a Boating Activity Exemption permit from STV,” the spokesman said.

“Ultimately, ensuring participants are as safe as possible is the event organiser’s responsibility.”

Siedle said more than 1200 swimmers had conquered the rip since the event began 12 years ago. He insisted he and his company had complied with a range of new safety protocols imposed by various government agencies.

“The investigation into that [the April 2025 swim] … was closed with a caution, and every recommendation has been acted on to strengthen our systems,” he said.

“We have also engaged an independent risk expert who has worked closely with Safe Transport Victoria, Parks Victoria and Ports Victoria to ensure our plan meets all requirements. We have followed the permitting process exactly as directed by authorities.

“The Rip Swim exists to offer swimmers a challenging and unforgettable experience, and while there is always some risk in open water, those risks have been thoroughly assessed and carefully managed.”

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