The Head Above Water 2026 Swimathon will be on this coming weekend 14-15 March 2026. There’s still time to register to swim a few laps or 20 at the Collaroy pool.
Head Above Water founder Andrew Ward says he can see a light at the end of the tunnel of his life. And while he admits it’s a tiny speck, barely visible, it’s there.
There was a time when Andrew Ward was on the sea floor of his life. His world had imploded and he was surrounded by darkness.
“It was hard for others to see because I am generally a pretty sociable person,” he says. “Even some of my closest mates said ‘Wardy, of everyone, we never thought it would be you’.”
Life continues to have ups and downs but now there is hope. Things to be thankful for each day. One of these is ‘community’ and for Andrew it has become a life passion.
‘Wardy, of everyone, we never thought it would be you’.
“Without community what do you have?” he says. “Community is about connection; being part of something bigger than yourself. I love the Collaroy community. Collaroy still has something of that village feel – you don’t always get that in a city like Sydney.”
He cites Rob and Cindy from the Pittwater Rd coffee shop Taste Espresso, as being central to that local connection. “Many stop there and catch up, everyday,” he says, “Some after being in the ocean.”
Andrew is a rusted-on Northern Beaches fella. He was raised in Frenchs Forest, played junior rugby for Wakehurst, colts for the Rats, and spent his 20s surfing and swimming “anywhere on the peninsula”. Along with Julie and their three children, aged 18, 16 and 14, he still calls the Northern Beaches home.
Wardy still swims three times-a-week and has been an officiating member of Collaroy Swimming Club. During our meeting he beams with happiness talking about his membership of the infamous Warringah Hillbillies, a clan of interesting folk who support Warringah Rats.
He is a big guy, about 6’5 by the old scale, confident and gregarious. It would be difficult to not notice, or not be impressed by, this engaging person.
“I think I’ve always had a big personality,” he says. “Maybe earlier, as someone who was tall and lean, I was a little shy. I think I get the gregariousness from my dad.”
Tragically, his dad, Eddie, died from a massive heart attack at only 48. Andrew was 13. He understands his dad was well-liked in the community and in his business as a paper merchant. He was heavily involved with Wakehurst Rugby and used to coach Andrew’s age group.
“I never processed his death. Never sought professional help. I grew up in an era of ‘toughen up’ and ‘just get it together’. I think not dealing with dad has certainly had an impact.”
“I never processed his death. Never sought professional help. I grew up in an era of ‘toughen up’ and ‘just get it together’. I think not dealing with dad has certainly had an impact.”
Yet it was a life-threatening cancer diagnosis for his wife Julie which saw Andrew, like a circus performer, attempting to keep the many plates of family life spinning. Something he felt he had to do.
“Then in 2018, after a number of failed treatments, one worked and Jules was given the ‘all clear’ – I should have been on top of the world.” Instead, he came crashing down. The breakdown manifested with Andrew spending a month at Northside Clinic, a private establishment in St Leonards.
He says not ‘dealing’ with his dad’s passing might well have contributed to the breakdown.
Looking back, he says he was fortunate to have a family that loved him unconditionally, a strong community around him and, if required, the ability to seek financial help. “But what about those who don’t have these things?” he asked himself.
Following a spate of suicides on the peninsula, also in 2018, Andrew attended a preventative men’s mental health workshop run by Tomorrow Man, in Avalon. He also learned first-hand how moderate exercise was great for people’s mental health.
This was when a lightbulb switched on: “I thought about something I could do,” he says. He envisaged a 24-hour swim at Collaroy rockpool where the community could gather and do laps for anyone touched by issues of mental health, including themselves. He got a bunch of mates together and the awareness-raising charity Head Above Water was born.
The next annual swim is March 14 and 15. It will be its seventh event. Since starting the marathon swim, Andrew has learned he is emotional and vulnerable. “It’s worked in my favour as I’m quite happy to talk about things with anyone,” he says. “I’m in-tune with my own emotions.”
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As we sit talking at Collaroy on a grey summer morning, Andrew reveals some of the things presently keeping him up at night. It’s a substantial list. Fortunately, each new day brings a renewed energy … he reminds himself ‘It’s the morning and I’m okay’.
One of the concerns is his own physical health: “I exercise but I also eat too much,” he says. “I saw the cardiologist yesterday. I need to lose a bit of weight. You can’t out-train a bad diet!”
The conversation returns to community, and he praises volunteers in surf and swimming clubs, in churches, and other sporting codes. As well, Parents Without Partners, which his mum joined after his dad’s passing.
As he speaks, a group of about a dozen mature women pass by our table, on the promenade. They are dressed in walking gear; some have backpacks and some have sticks for hiking. They are not dawdling. Their conversations are muffled yet there is an aura surrounding them. Of positivity.
“There’s a community group right there,” Wardy interrupts himself, gesturing. “They might have lost partners or be struggling in other ways. But they’re all together. Supporting one another and having fun.
“That’s community.“
The 2026 Head Above Water 24-hour swim is at Collaroy rockpool, March 14 and 15. For more information go to headabovewater.com.au
Can’t make the swim? You can throw your support through a donation instead.
