This week didn’t exactly start to plan. A live power outage in the opening minutes forced us to reset in real time. Which, in many ways, became the perfect reflection of this episode’s theme: Resilience.

From major global swims to the meaning behind Rottnest, this episode explores what it means to prepare well, and what it takes to respond when things don’t go to plan.

00:00 - Intro A slightly chaotic start thanks to a technical outage… but a reminder that open water (and live streaming) rarely goes exactly to plan.

01:52 - 🌊 This Week in the Water We took a lap around what’s happening across the open water world, including:

• U24 Safety to Sorrento Swim in Port Phillip Bay. 24km, 12km and 6km events with an incredible finishing rate !

02:55 - Video Update from Jono Ridler

• Update from Jono Ridler's 1,400km non-wetsuit swim down New Zealand’s east coast to raise awareness about bottom trawling and ocean health 🌊 Jono Ridler Website: https://swim4theocean.org/ 📸 Jono Ridler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonoridler/

• The Cole Classic in Manly and its powerful fundraising impact - https://coleclassic.com.au/

07:25 - Rottnest Final Countdown - https://rottnestchannelswim.com.au/ • Final countdown to the Rottnest Channel Swim and what the forecast means for swimmers - What to be aware of, what you can look forward to.

18:20 - 🏊 The Main Set – The Rottnest Channel Swim We deep dive into the history, culture and impact of the 19.7km crossing from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island. From its origins in a 1956 pub bet to the first official event in 1991, Rottnest has grown into one of the most iconic open water swims in the world.

44:58 - 💙 Weekly Wisdom – Robust vs Resilient Last week we spoke about robustness. This week we explore resilience.

We unpack reacting vs responding, managing nerves before a big event, and how to mentally prepare for challenging conditions.

58:06 -🎙 Live Q&A with Andy & Jay We answered community questions and expanded on:

• What do you do for sea sickness

• What do you think about during swims

• How do you deal with post swim blues

1:00:04 -❄️ The Cool Down Words of the Week:

• Calm Seas Never Made a Skilled Sailor

🔗 Stay Connected

📩 Join The After Swim Newsletter: https://afterswim.kit.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterswimcommunity

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afterswimcommunity

▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AfterSwimCommunity

After Swim is a global online community for open water swimmers — built around conversation, shared experience, and connection. If you enjoyed this episode:

👍 Subscribe

💬 Drop your thoughts or questions below

🔔 Join us live next week

Let’s keep the conversation going.