By Helen Castaño | 06:35 PM June 24, 2023
CATAINGAN, MASBATE- It was a water festival like no other in the island-province of Masbate as endurance swimmer and environmental lawyer Ingemar Macarine, also known as “Pinoy Aquaman” , graced the “Bagat Dagat” Festival 2023.
The swim of Macarine was some of the activities that marked the “Bagat Dagat Festival 2023 organized by Gov. Antonio Kho on June 24, feast of Saint John the Baptist.
“Bagat Dagat” means “beach gatherings by the residents of Cataingan town.
“My swim is to promote Masbate’s tourism, marine conservation and healthy lifestyle,” said Macarine, a fiscal from Bohol.
Masbate is known as the “Rodeo Capital of the Philippines.”
Saturday’s swim covered a total distance of 10.5 kilometers in four hours and 22 minutes of swim.
Macarine took off at around 7 a.m. at
Bugtong Island.
He said strong currents kept pulling him off course a kilometer before he reached his destination. However, he persisted and was able to reach The Lagoon at Matayum in Cataingan town at around 11:30 a.m.
“One of the most difficult swims. I had a hard time in the last one kilometer because of the strong current.It was challenging that I thought I could not make it,” he said after the historic swim.
Macarine has been swimming here and abroad.
He is the first Filipino to swim from Alcatraz Island Penitentiary to San Francisco City, California in the United States or 2.7 kilometers in one hour on April 7, 2014.
In 2024, Macarine aims to swim the English Channel.
Kho awarded a plaque of appreciation to Macarine after the swim.
