SAVANETA — Last Sunday, the entire community of Aruba united as one to be part of this historic event. Davy Bisslik, Stephan Thijsen, Romar Arendsz, Deaxo Croes and Wendy Kock of the Aruba Dolphins swimming club have been preparing for almost a year in order to achieve their goal, swimming from Venezuela to Aruba with a special purpose to collect funds for the Wilhelmina Cancer Funds. This event was called “Crossing for Hope.”
The 5 swimmers, together with family and volunteers, left Aruba on Friday morning. On Sunday morning at 7 AM, all the swimmers left Piedras Negras, Venezuela in the direction of Aruba. At approximately 3 PM the first swimmer reached Savaneta, Aruba. This was Davy Bisslik, son of the legendary Roly Bisslik, who swam from Venezuela to Aruba 30 years ago. Davy was received by a big crowd, who were cheering and applauding for him. It was a great celebration. You could see the joy, the excitement and the pride in everyone’s faces. Bit-by-bit, the other swimmers arrived.
They were received with the same fanfare. This event has so many special things to it, not only does Aruba have five new hero’s, but there is Wendy Kock, the first female ever to swim such distance. Then there is Stephan Thijsen, the youngest person to take part in such an event. This for sure is something Aruba is proud of. The swimmers were accompanied by family, friends and several other people during this journey. There were people that jumped into the water and even swam side-by-side with them. Even children were fascinated by these five “human dolphins’” achievement. The Wilhelmina Cancer Funds also showed gratitude to these five swimmers who sacrificed so much for a great cause.q
Pictures by: Andreina Morillo
