SURIGAO CITY -- After surviving the icy-cold waters in New York, United States last month, triathlete and environmental lawyer Ingemar Macarine will endure a record-setting 12-kilometer open water swim in the waters off Macajalar Bay between Misamis Oriental and Camiguin Island on Sunday.
Macarine, who earned the moniker “Pinoy Aquaman” for swimming great distance here and abroad, will kick off from the volcanic island to Balingoan town in Misamis Oriental.
Sunday’s swim, if successful, is Macarine’s 30th successful open-water swim since he first started his open-water swim in December 31, 2013 in this city.
Last May 14, the “Pinoy Aquaman” successfully crossed the 8.4-kilometer distance, nonstop and unassisted the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge to Bannerman Island in New York, the only Filipino so far to do it. The feat took him an hour and 49 minutes.
It was not the first time that Macarine endured cold waters as he had already crossed the Alcatraz Island to mainland San Francisco, as well as from Bay Bridge Marina to Sandy Point Park Beach, Annapolis in Maryland, USA, with a distance of 8.1 kilometer.
Macarine, who hails from Placer, Surigao del Norte, said Sunday’s swim is part of his preparation for his attempt to cross the English Channel later this year. He tried crossing the channel last year but cancelled the swim due to bad weather.
Macarine got into open-water swims as part of his advocacy for clean seas, marine resource protection, environmental tourism and climate change awareness. But on this particular swim, Macarine said he dedicates the swim for peace in Mindanao.
“I am a Mindanaon and I dedicate this particular swim for peace in Mindanao particularly in war-torn city of Marawi,” Macarine said.
Sunday’s record-setting swim is being sponsored by Dagohoy Masonic Lodge 84 of Bohol headed by worshipful master lawyer Lord “Cocot” Marapao. (PNA)
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