Alec Cooke, who set out to swim around O'ahu to raise awareness about pollution in the near-shore waters, completed his swim at about 5 p.m. Sunday at Manu O Ke Kai Beach in Hale'iwa, where some 100 people greeted him with lei and champagne.

Cooke estimated that he swam close to 200 miles while hugging the shoreline on the 10-day trip, filming the bottom and catching on tape old cars, garbage and leaking sewage from old outfalls that hook up to shoreline cesspools.

"And obviously the closer you get to shore the dirtier it gets, to the point where in certain places I could not see my hand in front of my face," said Cooke yesterday.

The effort left him with blistered feet and achy muscles, he said, adding that he had to use duct tape to protect his feet from the fins. Cooke hopes to use the video to inform the public about the problems he saw.