When Wayne Dill came to the end of a four-mile swim across the Bosphorus — a strait connecting Europe and Asia — he felt despair.

He was on the wrong side of the finishing platform in the 2025 Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim in Istanbul, Turkey.

The current in the strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara was so strong, he thought he would never get to the right place to officially finish.

“I was so exhausted I held on to a tyre hanging off the platform,” he said.

He thought he was disqualified until a referee blew a whistle and urged him to let go of the tyre and keep going.

“Then I knew I was still in the race,” Mr Dill said.

With all his might he fought the current.

“I had my eyes closed and was trying to windmill my arms,” he said.

If he had paused for even a moment the strength of the water would have knocked him back.

“Incrementally, I was moving towards the ladder,” he said. “Then I gave up and just let go.”

He crashed into the ladder and managed to pull himself out of the strait.

On dry land again, after swimming for more than an hour, he felt overwhelmed.

Mr Dill had swum four miles in an hour and 20 minutes, with 30 minutes of that spent just trying to navigate himself around the platform.

Not only had he made it through a very difficult swim, he had also overcome a dislike for the sport.

The 66-year-old has participated in triathlons for most of his life but hated the swimming portion.

“In my early days of triathlons, swimming was my weakest event,” he said. “I could not swim very well and I dreaded the training.”

Lessons and coaching over the years helped him to improve.

A few years ago, a colleague from Turkey told him about the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim in her country.

Mr Dill was instantly fascinated.

“While I was not confident with my swimming, I always felt that if I got into this event, I would train and give it my best effort,” Mr Dill said. “I always viewed it as a major swim challenge — especially given my level of swimming.”

The first obstacle was just getting into the race. He started applying for it in 2016.

“Online application begins at 11.59am and by 12.12pm it is completely sold out,” he said.

After applying repeatedly over the years, he told himself that 2025 would be the last year he tried to get into the race.

“I applied and got a message that it was completely sold out,” he said. “I thought, well I’m done and went on vacation.”

When he returned, he had a notification that he was at the top of the waiting list. If he wanted a spot, it was his.

He accepted the offer.

To take part in the race he needed a certified coach. He worked with one for eight months.

The race also required a stress test, an electrocardiogram, a general fitness test and photographs of every person who signed his documents.

The race was held on August 24.

“When you get to Istanbul you have to present your documents and passport again and you have to do a swimmer’s check before they give you your kit,” he said.

The day before the race, participants were taken on a cruise to show them course landmarks, which included a suspension bridge, power cables and Gallagher’s Island.

He was warned that if swimmers did not turn right at Gallagher’s Island, the race would be over for them. The current was too strong for them to change course and make it back to the finish line.

On race day, Mr Dill found himself standing by the water in a crowd waiting to start.

“It felt surreal,” he said. “In the water everyone else disperses very quickly and you find yourself alone.”

Racers could not wear watches or spectacles in the water.

At Gallagher’s Island, Mr Dill almost turned the wrong way but someone in a support dinghy shouted at him to turn, which he did.

“The Bosphorus is choppy and the current is significant,” Mr Dill said. “If the water running through Flatts Inlet was a ten at its fastest, the Bosphorus was about a six on the day I swam.”

Through the first section of the race, the current helped to push him closer to his goal.

“By the second and third sections the current slowed down to become almost non-existent,” Mr Dill said. “I was working really hard in this portion. In the fourth part of the swim the current picked up significantly, especially around the finish platform.”

When he first jumped into the Bosphorus he felt optimistic seeing the suspension bridge ahead of him.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I am going to do this’,” he said. “Then I was swimming and swimming. I looked up and the bridge did not seem any closer. At that point, doubt kicked in.”

Between the suspension bridge and the cables doubt transformed to defeat.

“But you are in the middle of the Bosphorus strait, you cannot just start walking away,” Mr Dill said.

He kept going and a fellow competitor, a bit younger, came up next to him and said he had nothing left to give, he wanted to quit.

Seeing the next marker in the distance, Mr Dill encouraged him to not give up, saying: “Come on, let’s go.”

“I left him,” Mr Dill said. “I am not sure what he did.”

There were 3,000 applications for the swim. Three-hundred people did not start. During the race, 92 were pulled from the water, and one competitor disappeared, presumed drowned.

“My finishing number was 2,604,” Mr Dill said. “I finished four minutes before the race finished, so I am pretty sure I was in last place. It strikes me as very romantic to say I was probably the first Bermudian to swim from Asia to Europe.”

Swimming the Bosphorus was definitely life-changing for Mr Dill, but not something he plans to do again.

However, he is looking forward to seeing how he does in the swimming portion of triathlons after conquering this race.