World-first for Walker Bay!

World-first for Walker Bay!

Extreme endurance athlete swims from Hermanus to Gansbaai

Writer & Photographer Sarah Taylor

South African musician and extreme open-water swimmer Carina Bruwer on Friday, 12 March 2021 became the first person to swim across Walker Bay, from Hermanus to Gansbaai, a distance of almost 20 km, in a time of six hours and 36 minutes.

The epic Atlantic Ocean charity challenge from the Hermanus Old Harbour to Stanford's Cove, De Kelders, was live-streamed on Youtube (search for Carina completes world-first 21km across Walker Bay, in support of struggling artists), eliciting at the time of going to press more than R60 000 in donations (including offline donations) for the Tribuo Fund, a private non-profit fund to support performing arts freelancers who have lost their source of income due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

More donations have been pledged to the cause of this awe-inspiring mother of three. The Capetonian musician and entertainment industry entrepreneur herself has been hard hit by the pandemic, due to effective live-performance lockdown.

“There have been no earning opportunities within the performing arts, the industry I’ve loved working in for the past 20 years. It has truly been a case of sink or swim,” said Carina, who has performed around the world with SAMA Award-winning instrumental group Sterling EQ and other musical acts.

“Artists were one of the groups instantly affected by lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions,” said Tribuo founding member and CEO of NATi, Cornelia Faasen. “Artists seldom have safety nets of savings, insurance or pensions. They work from one production or event to the next. For many of them, the major arts festivals are their primary and most consistent source of income. The performing arts industry finds itself in devastatingly distressed times. Our artists need a helping hand to keep their heads above water. Therefore, our partnership with Carina makes perfect sense.”

Carina has raised close to R700 000 plus more than R2 million in media value for various charities through her swims in the past few years.

Speaking the day after the Walker Bay event, Carina said she was so grateful for all the support she received to pull off the extreme swim: “It really was so special. I won’t forget this one!”

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