The Live Ocean Winter Dip is back for its third consecutive year on Wednesday 8 June to mark World Ocean Day. 

Live Ocean Foundation, founded by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, is encouraging Kiwis across Aotearoa to take the plunge for the annual Live Ocean Winter Dip to raise awareness for the need for collective action to protect and restore the ocean. 

Whether you’re plunging into the chilly waters of Sumner, off Lambton quay into the harbour, somewhere scenic in the Bay of Islands, or a dip in the Hauraki Gulf, it’s all in the name of action for the ocean. 

The Live Ocean Winter Dip challenges Kiwis to create a video of their 30-second dip in the ocean, share it on Instagram or TikTok, nominate 3 friends to do the same, and tag @itsliveocean, #LiveOceanDip and #WorldOceanDay to be part of the movement. 

Last year’s event included the likes of Josh Emmett, Kim Crossman, Ricardo Christie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Brad Webber and Kara Rickard.  

With more than 65% of New Zealanders living less than 10km from the ocean, it is an impactful way to raise awareness on the pressing need to protect New Zealand’s cherished backyard. 

“Protecting and restoring the ocean is one of the biggest challenges of our time, with many of the issues our ocean faces out of sight,” said Blair Tuke. “We are encouraging people to share the ambition of a healthy ocean by jumping in the moana on World Ocean Day. I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the places people choose to do their winter dips and the number of Kiwis backing the ocean.” 

World Ocean Day this year focuses on revitalisation of the ocean and the need for collective action to protect it. 

“As a small nation, Aotearoa is an ocean giant. We have the fourth largest ocean space in the world, but we only protect 0.4% of it,” said Peter Burling. “World Ocean Day is an opportunity for us in New Zealand to have bold conversations about the collective action that we can take to protect and restore the ocean. It does so much for us, it’s time to start prioritising it.” 

Later this month, the world’s governments, NGOs and international bodies will meet in Lisbon on 27 June for the UN Ocean Conference to scale up ocean policy to protect and restore the ocean and the life in it.  

Burling and Tuke will present a Voices for a Healthy Ocean commitment of sportspeople, voyagers and ocean communities committing to use their platform to advocate for a healthy ocean to UN Ocean Conference leaders.