Swim 4 Survival - Howard Warrington's "Century" for the SPCA • Cape of Good Hope SPCA

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Endurance Sport-obsessed Howard Warrington will soon become the 4th person in the world to swim from Blouberg to Robben Island one hundred times – and if that isn’t enough of an accomplishment, he’s doing it for animals! Having witnessed first-hand the extent of the pollution far from our shores, Howard has made it his mission to act for animals whose habitats and lives are threatened by human action / inaction.

As Howard (who swims only in a Speedo) puts it,

“When I get into the freezing water, I know I’ll only be in pain for the first 10 strokes, animals are enduring so much more for so much longer and that’s what keeps me going”!

He’s right, there’s no quick death for animals entangled in any kind of debris that humans should have responsibly disposed of.

In His Own Words

Howard tells us his story

My swim history…

I have always been obsessed with endurance sports events such as Comrades marathons, Ironman triathlons, Mountain biking events etc.

Then I decided to try open water swimming, so I swam my first 7.4km Robben Island to Blouberg in April 2015, 2nd April 2016 and 3rd April 2017, then again October 2017.

After my 4th Robben Island crossing, I decided to swim across the English Channel 9 months later, which was in July 2018, in a time of 16hours, 13 minutes, in one go, in a Speedo.

I then set my sights on 100 Robben Island crossings. I have swum 87 crossings since my 4th in October 2018, bringing my total to 91 on 4 April 22. Of these 91 crossings I swam a few doubles and a triple.

I am booked to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar (Europe to Africa) in July, and across False Bay (Simon’stown to Rooi-Els) in November this year.

Why I have decided to do this:

1. I’m pretty much an obsessive-compulsive (OCD) personality.

2. I’m a sucker for punishment 🤣

3. Why SPCA? We’re a family of animal lovers. We see the effects of pollution etc. and we have to raise awareness to assist the beautiful creatures that I share the ocean with. They need our assistance to their survival.