My new hero, Johnny

IT IS 12.58 am on October 3.

I am sitting at my laptop in the warm, dry, comfort of home, writing this article. Meanwhile, in stark contrast, a Tobago friend, Johnny (John Procope), is immersed in the deep, dark, possibly cold waters off the channel between Tobago and Trinidad, making his "Big Swim" to the mainland.

As I write this ahead of his "landing," I am confident that he will complete this swim and create history by being the first person to achieve this feat on his own steam – no flotation devices or time outs on boats.

In my article of June 30, entitled Johnny's Big Swim, I wrote about Johnny's preparation for this moment – his third attempt at swimming the channel. Previous attempts were thwarted by the tail-end of Hurricane Fiona in 2022 and strong currents seven miles off Toco in 2023.

The wait between June and now is owing to the fact that Johnny and his team were waiting for favourable currents and weather conditions.

On October 2, Johnny set up a WhatsApp chat group – we all wished him well, sending prayers and positive vibes and sharing screenshots from the Mapshare site which we tracked his progress.

Originally scheduled to start at sunset, off the coast at Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, plans were adjusted and Johnny's "Big Swim" began at the Coast Guard's jetty in Scarborough at about 9.45 pm on October 2.

For those wondering why Johnny is undertaking this mission, I will quote from my June article:

"His 'Big Swim' is not for style or show. It is a 'make-the-impossible-possible' personal campaign through which he hopes to

(i) raise awareness of the devastating impacts of climate change, pollution and overfishing in our oceans and

(ii) encourage the government and corporations to support 'learn to swim' programmes nationwide."

Inspiring local stories such as the triumph of human spirit, mind and body, should be among the headlines of our daily news. This is no small feat. It begs the question of us all – what, in our own lives, is the equivalent of "the Big Swim"?

I will share the (slightly edited) words of Kenneth Thomas who, in our "Big Swim" chat group, left a voice note beautifully expressing this notion:

"Even as Johnny swims and we pray and we send our love and good vibrations, I want to humbly suggest to all of us – find something that you're passionate about in your life, that you've care about for 100 years or ten or 15 years, it doesn't matter. Find that thing and do the Johnny Procope. This is historic beyond thought. This is bigger than Tobago life itself. This is just way beyond Kilimanjaro kind of heights. Find something, use this moment, use this swim, use this time in life – wherever you are in the world supporting him from a vibrational and prayer standpoint. In your own life ... whether it is to be a better parent, a more amazing father, a more fascinating mother or best friend or whatever ... it doesn't matter. Clean up a beach in Tobago or Grenada or Jamaica, wherever. Choose a beach and keep it Johnny Procope clean ... I really want to challenge all of us. Find that thing in your life; Like 'Jonathan Livingstone Seagull' ... that amazing book that has nothing to do with a seagull at all, but has to do with you. Well, that is exactly what Johnny is doing. Go beyond – go way beyond your normal self ... Use this Johnny Procope moment to leverage yourself into a new place, a new thing, a new vibration, a new effort. Do something. Make the Holy Spirit or whatever you believe in proud of you. Go for it. Do it for your children, do it for your posterity, do it for your nation ... it doesn't matter. Go for it. Let's maximise this Johnny Procope swim. One way or the other, this is a life-changing, life-transforming, life-empowering moment. We do not need Hollywood any more. This is it. The Johnny Procope syndrome. Blessings all. Shalom."

Flash forward ... As I continue writing on October 3, at 10.46 pm, I envision an exhausted but no doubt exhilarated Johnny and team. In just over 24 hours, this human "swim machine" successfully conquered the 19-mile channel between Tobago and Trinidad, inspiring and uplifting national and global spirits in the process.

I knew you could do it, Johnny!

We are beyond proud of you.