Back then the sport barely existed, and those who chose to pursue it were looked upon as rejects of the pool rather than athletes in their own right.

"These beach swims that are on every weekend now didn't exist," John remembers.

"When I first started there were probably half a dozen of us in Australia."

Regardless of its lowly status, John and those 'half a dozen' or so others stuck to it, competing in the few events that existed and seeking out whatever challenging expanses of water they could find.

This dedication, coupled with a love and natural talent for the sport, paid off for John with wins in early races like the Magnetic Island to Townsville swim, before in 1968 he travelled to the UK to take on the 'Everest' of open water swimming - the English Channel.

John's first attempt didn't end with the record-breaking swim he'd envisaged, but rather with him being pulled from the water after blacking out.

When he came back the next year, however, John conquered the channel, and in the process he became the first Australian male to complete the feat.

More challenges followed, with John completing the Cook Strait between New Zealand's south and north island twice, in 1981 and 1986.

At the same time, John helped grow the sport at an administrative level, founding the Australian Long-Distance Swimming Federation in 1973 and providing a platform for the next generation of open water swimmers to benefit from.

His efforts were rewarded too, with that next generation establishing themselves as the leading lights of long-distance swimming.

"Australian swimmers dominated marathon swimming worldwide in the 90s," John said.

"I was very proud to be a part of that."

John's pioneering efforts in the sport were rewarded in August when he became one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

Now 76, John has lived in Forster for more than 20 years, after he came here to watch his son compete in the Ironman Australia triathlon in the late 90s.

Liking what he saw, he built the Dorsal Hotel behind Forster Ocean Baths, which he still runs to this day.

Apart from offering a stellar view of the Pacific Ocean, the Dorsal also gives John ample opportunity to continue his love affair with swimming, which he still makes plenty of time for.

"I swim at least two kilometres nearly every day," John said.

"I love it. It's my escape."

Looking back on his contribution to open water swimming, John gets the most fulfilment out of seeing just how far the sport has come since those early days when he first started swimming the length of Manly Beach.

"Open water swimming is now a phenomenon worldwide," he said.

"It's delightful to see."

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