Monday, May 22, 2006
Historic swim across Sarangani Bay in 4 hours
SARANGANI BAY -- Only three teams out of six entries finished the 15-kilometer first-ever swim across Sarangani Bay witnessed by thousands of people Thursday last week.
The powerhouse Dadiangas Torpedoes team of General Santos City, which clocked four hours five minutes and 18 seconds (4:05:18), won by just two minutes over MJ Powerpines of Maasim (04:07:12).
The Maasim Swimming Team clocked a distant third in a time of 4:57:26.
"This is the longest open ocean marathon swimming competition in the country and probably in Asia," said swim manager Guiseppe Chiew, provincial agriculturist.
The teams composed of 10 relay swimmers started crossing Sarangani Bay at 7 a.m. from Tampuan Point, Kamanga, Maasim to barangay Tango, Glan.
Fears had been raised that the bay's unpredictable current would pull swimmers towards General Santos City.
"I really enjoyed it," said swimming athlete Ergel Arcinas, 16, of Dadiangas Torpedoes.
"It was hard on our part since the water was salty and the bay has a strong current. We are used to swimming in the pool," Arcinas added.
The swimmers, mostly in their teens, swam across guided by course marker boats fitted with global positioning system (GPS) receivers to get the exact position of the shortest line from start to finish.
The boats marked with orange flags to guide swimmers.
Each team started with a lead swimmer closely followed by an escort boat where other team members wait for their turn.
While the bay is noted for its unpredictable current and feared for its shark denizens, none of these stifled the six entries who answered the starting gun.
Exhaustion however forced three teams to quit about midway through the demanding challenge, believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez declared the competition a success as he noted the huge crowd both at the starting point and at the finish line.
The 29-year-old governor, who monitored the race from a speedboat, opened the competition in Kamanga and welcomed the swimmers in Tango.
The Dadiangas Torpedoes received P30,000 as champion. MJ Powerpines won P7,500 while third-placer Maasim Swim Team bagged P5,000.
The swim, dubbed as Across-the-Bay Open Ocean Swimming Competition, highlighted the 1st Sarangani Bay Festival opening day.
The festival was initiated by the Provincial Government in order to showcase the richness and beauty of one of the largest bays in the country. (Sarangani Information Office)
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(May 22, 2006 issue)
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