Oliver Klokman swam around Saba in seven hours 34 minutes, Saturday, September 21. The first per­son to do so in more than twenty years and perhaps the first ever.

Klokman, who has resided on Saba for three years and manages the Marine Research Centre whilst completing his PhD, is an avid sportsman. He is in training for the next Iron Man in March and can be seen riding his bicycle up and down the steep Saban hills to and from the Fort Bay every day, a feat in itself.

Klokman left Fort Bay at 5:15am to swim the 19.5 kilo­metres alone. Friends and supporters from Saba Wellness Pharmacy, Jacqui Christian and Menno van der Velde, joined him on sea kayaks, also their first time paddling around Saba, to provide fluids and snacks for the arduous journey. His partner, Nike’ Dekkers, and friends; Geer­trude Hellema, Eefje Vorage, Carlos Franco and Marc Buijssen joined him at Wells Bay to swim the final five kilometres with him to Fort Bay.

It was a beautiful calm day and they said it was like swim­ming in an aquarium. Klokman is to be congratulated for achieving this amazing feat and hopes to inspire others to be fit, healthy and to achieve their goals.

The Daily Herald.

Congratulations to Oliver Klokman! At 12:45pm, he became the first person to swim around the entire island. Oliver is a PhD candidate, studying Marine Animal Ecology at Wageningen Graduate Schools, WIAS.

The 18k swim took Klokman about 7 and a half hours to complete.

He was accompanied by 2 kayakers for the whole journey. A team of supporters also joined in to finish the last leg from Wells Bay to the Fort Bay with Oliver.

 

 

Public Health & Sports Department Saba.