Quinn Darragh has spent years keeping Bondi’s swimmers safe but this March, the lifeguard best known for his role on Bondi Rescue is asking the ocean to carry him for a change. Swimming continuous laps between North and South Bondi through the night and into the next day, Quinn is attempting what organisers describe as a record breaking feat of continuous ocean swimming never before achieved in Australia, all to raise awareness for organ donation and transplant recovery.
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On 13 March, Darragh will enter the water at his home beach and not come out for 24 hours. No rest. No breaks. Just 24 relentless hours in the open ocean. Quinn is a familiar face at Bondi. A career lifeguard, he has spent his career as a lifeguard at Bondi Beach. But over the past year, it’s been Quinn who needed watching over.
Less than 12 months ago, he underwent a life saving liver transplant after being diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), an incurable autoimmune disease. His body initially rejected the donor organ, and what followed was a gruelling period of complications, setbacks and an extensive road to recovery.
The challenge is exactly what it sounds like: no rest, no breaks, just Quinn pinballing back and forth across Bondi Beach for 24 hours straight. Day and night. In the open ocean.
Organisers describe it as a record never before achieved in Australia, a continuous 24 hour ocean swim. For a man still well within his first year post transplant, deciding to take on such a physical challenge speaks to the resolve that carried him through recovery.
According to his fundraising page, his body initially rejected the donor organ after surgery, and he fought through complications, setbacks and an extensive road to recovery. Now, rather than slowing down, he has chosen to use his recovery as a platform for two causes close to his heart.
The Causes
The first is organ donation awareness. Through his swim, Quinn is supporting the Liver Foundation and Gift of Life Foundation, two organisations focused on organ donation awareness and transplant support, while encouraging Australians to understand the life saving power of donation. His advocacy is grounded in lived experience: without a donor, there is no swim, no recovery, no story to tell.
The second cause is Ocean Heroes, a charity that delivers free surfing events and ocean experiences to autistic and neurodiverse communities across Australia. Quinn has been a long time supporter of the organisation, and funds raised through his swim will go directly toward keeping those programs free and accessible for neurodivergent individuals and their families.
It’s a pairing that reflects who Quinn is. A husband, father of three, and devoted lifeguard, he has spent his career at Bondi giving back to the community around him. This time, he’s asking that community to give something back.
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At time of writing, Quinn’s fundraising page on GiveNow had already raised more than $7,000. Every dollar raised supports Ocean Heroes’ programs and organ donation awareness initiatives through the Liver Foundation and Gift of Life Foundation.
Published 6-March-2026
