70 years strong: Emma swims from Mañagaha to Micro Beach

Not everyone can swim—let alone swim for hours in rough water—but 500 Sails’ co-founder Emma Perez thrives in it. And what better way to celebrate her 70 years around the sun than to swim from Mañagaha to Micro Beach on Tuesday morning?

She didn’t do it alone. Her husband Pete guided her, along with her brothers Fred and Rob, while fellow swimmers celebrated Emma’s birthday by braving the rough currents—Boboy Aguilar, Garry DeGuzman, Kris Romero, Natalia Gvan, John Moreno, Andrew Roberto, and Yulia Aleksenko.

Battling a small craft advisory, strong riptides, and even jellyfish stings—the first of her life—Emma spent almost three grueling hours swimming from Mañagaha to Micro Beach. She called it one of the toughest swims of her life, despite having many challenging swims under her belt over the years. What made it even more extraordinary was that a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the Marianas while she was in the water. Fortunately, there was no tsunami threat, and her entourage stayed on shore to wait for her to finish.

In a post-swim interview, Emma said she must have been stuck swimming in the same spot for about half an hour. In the water, she thought about life and its challenges—how sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s hard.

“I was swimming for a while and I looked up and there was a swimmer next to me and I thought, ‘oh, misery loves company.’ The last third was very, very, very hard, but we did it. There were nine swimmers and four kayakers and lots and lots of love, and it was beautiful,” she said. “I could do without the jellyfish sting—first one in my life—but I just kept going.”

By celebrating her birthday this way, Emma said, “I hope that I encourage other people getting older that you just don’t know what your limits are. Anyway, it was really fun. I got my two brothers here from the States who were part of it too, so that was really great.” She added that the swimmers who joined her were part of her swimming journey—some beginners at one point who are now marathon swimmers—so “there was a lot of love in the water today.”

Roberto, a longtime volunteer for 500 Sails, said, “It’s her birthday, but I just wanted to get on the record and say, Emma, you are the gift. I love you so much. Thank you very much for all you and Peter have done for the sailing and swimming community, and everything in general, including the nonprofit community. Emma, you’ve been beautiful, and now you get to swim off into the sunset.”

Romero, a volunteer with the Sirena Project and one of the first swimmers to reach shore, said of Emma, “I’m very proud of her and I believe she contributed a lot to this community…. I’m also sad because she’s leaving.”

Special thanks were given to master navigator Cecilio Raiukiulipiy, Vince and Chamie Tudela for their support with the boat, the Department of Public Safety Marine Safety, and the four kayakers who were out on the water guiding and supporting the swimmers.