THE DAY GODFREY CROSSED THE SEA ALONE
(by Juliet P. Cataluna, Bandillo Batanes)

		Godfrey Nanud is a 20-year-old Fishing Technology student at the Sabtang School of Fisheries. He is also a caretaker of a goat stock farm of the Municipal Agricultural Office in Sabtang. Early this year, Godfrey has to finish a final report on the effective methods of catching lobsters. For this, he needed to stay in Vuhos Island to do his research. In the middle of January, Godfrey went to the Islet with a classmate, William Homigop. The two young men were ferried there by Pablo Galma, a native of Brgy. Nakanmuan. Pablo agreed to fetch them three days later.

On the third day, however, Pablo failed to come back for Godfrey and William because there was no available motorboat. The two men waited. On the seventh day, Nanud could not wait any longer. He was worried about losing his job for failing to report after the third day.

Leaving William to care of their fishing gear, Godfrey mustered the courage to swim across the channel to Brgy. Nakanmuan using only a pair of goggles and a locally-fabricated swimming fin. He brought with him a small knife and a broken piece of mirror which he found at the shore to use as a signal in case he gets into trouble.

Now, Nakanmuan is a barangay on the western side of Sabtang Island with a distance of about three to four kilometres from Vuhos Island. It is quite a distance by any standards for any swimmer-and through strong currents at that.

In making the actual crossing, Godfrey aimed for a certain point on Sabtang to give allowance for the current which he immediately felt was strong. When he asked how he was able to sustain his strength, He said that he varied his strokes and prayed hard.

After swimming for more than an hour, Godfrey was able to reach Nakanmuan. When he waded ashore, he met Mark Carba, a native of Nakanmuan, who was amazed to see him alone and asked, "Sango rarayay mo?"(Who are your companions?) Carba couldn't believe that the young man would dare make the crossing alone.

Townsfolk say that in previous years, others had also crossed the channel but they were in groups of three or more. Godfrey was the first who ever did it alone.

Godfrey's feat was met with admiration. Simeon Acuña Jr., said that it was not really surprising, for Godfrey loves his job very much. Acuña added that Godfrey is a conscientious student who was once named "Best Fish Capturist"(?) in their class. His employer, Municipal Agriculture Officer Frances Ramos, Said Godfrey is a good and trustworthy employee.

When Godfrey's mother learned what he had done, she said she would have been fearful for his son's life if she knew because, according to her, he is suffering from a pulmonary ailment.

Based on the nautical chart of Batan Island, the depth of the channel Godfrey crossed is about 25 fathoms and the current strength is approximately 1.6 kilometers per hour.