Ocean swimmer laps Lord Howe Island flanked by sharks

A Sydney teacher has become the first woman to swim the circumference of Lord Howe Island in a marathon ocean swim that saw her confront sharks, waves and dangerous rips.

Lauren Tischendorf braves sharks and rough conditions in her 13 hour and 50 minute marathon ocean swim around Lord Howe Island. Picture: Bradley Farley

A Sydney teacher has battled schools of sharks, 2.5m waves and wild currents that swept her off course to become the first woman to swim a complete lap of Lord Howe Island in a marathon feat of endurance.

Ocean swimmer Lauren Tischendorf completed the mega-lap in 13 hours and 50 minutes, covering a distance greater than 35km in the open waters around the remote outcrop in the Tasman Sea.

Ms Tischendorf, who wore just a bathing suit and ocean grease in the water, said the swim was made even more difficult by the rough conditions and a group of galapagos, tiger and mako sharks that circled her continuously, which meant she did not want to stop to eat for the duration of the swim.

“I won’t lie — conditions were pretty miserable,” she said. “There were eight-foot waves most of the way. I got stuck in a current for two hours and I just couldn’t move. I tried swimming up, going down, but I couldn’t get out of it.

“Sharks were circling me for three-quarters of the whole way.

“I went into the swim knowing there were sharks on the island. It’s just one of those things with the ocean and nature. If they were to kill me, what a way to die.

“That’s how I come to terms with the wildlife. It just means I was working through my stores of nutrition as I didn’t want to stop to eat and attract more sharks.”

The inner-city Paddington-based swimmer, who trained for the endurance swim at Bondi and Coogee in Sydney’s east, said the natural beauty of the far-flung ­island — an active volcano millions of years ago — sustained her through the gruelling swim.

“The cliffs were amazing and the water was this amazing royal blue, like a highlighter,” she said.

“The swim was so much longer than I was expecting.

“We worked out that I could do it, based on my swimming experience and what my body normally does, in 11 or 12 hours, but the conditions were just wild the whole time.

“There were only two sections where I could get into a comfortable rhythm for an hour or 30 minutes, otherwise it was just constantly troubleshooting.”

Triumph: Ms Tischendorf after her epic feat. Picture: Heidi Morris

Friend and fellow endurance athlete Bradley Farley, who accompanied her on her trip in a kayak, said it was an incredible feat to witness.

“It was insane,” he said.

“She’s such a strong woman. I was in tears when the sharks were all around, I was welling up thinking, this woman is incredible.”

The South African-born swimmer, who migrated to Australia more than 20 years ago and started ocean swimming seven years ago (she also does long distance running), said it was hugely emotional when she returned to the shore.

“It was a little bit hard at the end,” she said. “I could see the shore line then the sun went down really quickly in half an hour, so the last two hours I was swimming in the dark.

“The paddlers and the rubber boat had lights on and I could see fish and a little shark. It was just spectacular.

“At the harbour, everyone was saying go to this light, go to this buoy, but I couldn’t see that getting back in.

“But when I got to the end, the community members on the ­island were clapping and shouting as one.”

Ms Tischendorf said she felt “energised” by the ordeal rather than exhausted and planned to submit her accomplishment to the Marathon Swimming Federation to claim her record.

“It was a long day on the water but at no point did I feel like I wanted to stop or give up. It was just remarkable,” she said.

The Lord Howe Island circuit is a relatively uncharted endurance course, with Australian ocean swimmers jumping at the chance to break records on home soil during the pandemic.

Queensland-based swimmer Lynton Mortensen is believed to have become the first person to complete the Lord Howe swim in February this year.