While his passport might be decorated with stamps from Italy, the United States, Fiji and more, it’s a local event that tops the list of his favourite swims.
“I like the Nagambie (On Water) swim, I must admit,” he said.
“In 2008, the first swim started, and because it was in our own backyard, I thought I’d give it a go.
“I’ve done every one, except one which I missed because my son and I did a two-person relay of the Perth to Rottnest swim.”
Aside from the local event, another favourite is his swim of the English Channel, which he completed with a group of people he met through swimming and still keeps in contact with today.
“We still keep in touch. In fact, on Saturday, we’re going to catch up near Queenscliff,” Mr Wilson said.
“We actually celebrated out 10-year ‘channel-versary’ last year.”
It’s led to sightseeing, friendships and a sense of accomplishment, but swimming, for Mr Wilson, began with news that many would dread to hear.
“I had a health scare in the ’80s, and I had a melanoma in my leg,” he said.
After getting the cancer cut out, he could no longer run, so he instead decided to take to the water to keep up his fitness.
“I got serious about swimming because you need to do something,” Mr Wilson said.
“My two boys were growing up at the time, so I did the VicSwim course, and was a VicSwim teacher for 10 years.
“Then, one thing led to another, and a mate of mine had just bought a house down at Torquay, and said, ‘well, why don’t we do the Torquay swim?’”
That question has led to well over 100 swims in locations across the world for Mr Wilson, some of which have been completed alongside his youngest son.
“After I did the VicSwim course, we used to do the summer learn-to-swim program down at the Olympic Pool in Seymour, and (my sons) used to come down and help,” Mr Wilson said.
“The youngest still does the odd swim with me, we’ve done 17 swims at Torquay now, and we got our 10-year tenacious sea dog medals together, that was seven years ago now. We’re now aiming to get our 20-year swim medals at Torquay.”
While it’s a significant achievement to complete the distances Mr Wilson has, he said his favourite part about participating in these events was that he knew they were for a good cause.
“Most swims support life-saving clubs, so every donation goes directly to the club to help life-saving around Victoria ... Nearly all of them are supporting a worthwhile cause,” he said.
“It’s not just a profit-making venture for an individual, it’s for a cause, and that’s what I really like about the swimming season.”
Mr Wilson is set to complete his 18th Club2Pub swim at the 19th Nagambie On Water festival on Saturday, February 28.
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