Lorne Pier to Pub Ocean Swim

The Lorne Pier to Pub has been running since 1981. It is an annual open water race held in January each year. Swimmers enter from the pier and swim about 1.2 km to the finish line in front of the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club . The race attracts up to 4,000 competitors and in 1988 it entered the Guinness Book of Records with 3071 swimmers, making it the world’s largest open water race.

1985, photo taken by Tony Stribling, when 1000 swimmers entered the water at the same time.

The Pier to Pub is now a tightly organised event. Swimmers must purchase entry tickets to compete. The event is very popular and entry tickets sell out each year.  The race is divided into about thirty waves of swimmers starting from 11 am to 3 pm.

2025, Pier to Pub

The 45th Pier to Pub was held on Saturday 11th January in 2025. More than 5,200 participants took part in the swim event. On Friday 10th January, the day before the Pier to Pub swim, the Mountain to Surf 8 km run is held in Lorne. In 2025, the Mountain to Surf attracted more than 2,340 competitors to the forested trail run up the hill to Teddy’s Lookout then back along the Lorne foreshore to the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club.

• Wikipedia accessed March 2024
• Lorne Surf Life Saving Club
• Surf Coast Times, articles by James Taylor and Nathan Rivalland, 17 Jan 2025