Two Perth swimmers have completed the 34-kilometre Derwent River swim in Hobart, finishing under the Tasman Bridge after more than nine hours in the water.
Jolanda Carstens and Simone Blaser started their epic journey at 3:45am on Monday in pitch-black “eerie” conditions.
They are two of only 151 people to complete the swim since the Derwent River Big Swim challenge started in 1973.
“There was no wind, it was glassy,” Carstens told Pulse.
“I love black swimming. It’s pitch black and you use different senses and it’s very peaceful.”
They said they weren’t worried about what else might be in the water with them at that time of the morning?
“We’re from Perth, we have bigger things in the water there,” Blaser said.
The pair took nine hours and eight minutes to complete the swim, which forms part of Australia’s Triple Crown swimming challenge alongside swims in Sydney and Perth.
The Derwent River Big Swim team prides itself on being Tasmania’s toughest challenge.
Swimmers cross 34 kilometres of fresh and salt water and begin at New Norfolk Bridge and ends in the open waters below the Tasman Bridge.
President of the Big Swim Douglas Hughson said since 1973 only 151 people have finished the challenge.
“We hope to have 33 people finish it this summer season, it’s always a huge effort,” he said.
He said every swimmer faces changing currents, temperature shifts, and the pride of reaching Hobart by water.
For Carstens, it was her first attempt at the distance.
“I’ve done nothing this far so I had a little bit of a doubt in my mind, but we did it,” she said.
Blaser has more experience with marathon swims, having completed the 54-kilometre upper Ord River swim in September 2024 and is the first person to tackle that route.
The Derwent River Big Swim has the same strict “English Channel rules” which means no wetsuits, watches or touching any support equipment.
The women were fed every 30 minutes by their support crew, who threw bottles on ropes containing warm electrolyte drinks and energy food.
“You’re not allowed to touch anything, so if you touch anything you disqualify,” Carstens said.
“We had a bottle of champagne afterwards.”
Water temperatures of 18 degrees provided unusually warm conditions for the notoriously cold Derwent swim.
“This swim is the coldest but we had really good conditions, that’s really warm for this,” Carstens said.
To see the Tasman Bridge looming in the distance wasn’t as good of a feeling as some might expect.
“So I did see the bridge from a distance was like, oh my God, this is the Tasman Bridge,” Carstens explained.
“By the time you see it though, you’ve still got another 5k to go.”
“You just need to keep your head down.”
The achievement completes Carstens’ Triple Crown challenge, while Blaser is continuing to build her portfolio of extreme swimming accomplishments.
