BY HAZEL P. VILLA
ILOILO City – As if it was not enough to cross Iloilo to Guimaras Island twice on stand-up paddleboard (SUP), an Ilongga influencer now also becomes the first person to cross Iloilo to Negros on Oct. 19, 2024.
Having slept for only three hours prior to Saturday’s crossing out of excitement, 54-year-old Lucy Lynette Ponce Uygongco covered a distance of 23.02 kilometers in 5 hours, 27 minutes and 6 seconds and paddling at 4.2 kilometers per hour.
Uygongco who goes by the meta profile name of LpuKids Ibike and Ipaddle left Banate Boulevard in Northern Iloilo at 3:23 a.m. and arrived at Pasil Sandbar in Brgy. Latasan, EB Magalona town in Negros Occidental.
“The water was most perfect and as flat as the Iloilo River,” said Uygongco, a native of Bacolod City and an entrepreneur.
However, there were some “normal waves” for an hour in the middle of the crossing which was in the Guimaras Strait after which it was flat waters all the way through.
Uygongco chose to cross on October 19 – having seen the weather forecast that a strong typhoon is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility on October 23 to 29, 2024.
The Iloilo to Negros crossing happened after 1.5 years when she reunited on Oct. 12 with her SUP coach, Gary Neil Benedicto, who coached her on her Iloilo to Guimaras crossing on May 26, 2022 and on June 10, 2022.
For the Iloilo to Negros feat, she resumed training on October 14, 2024, under Benedicto, a 43-year-old gold medalist in the 2019 Elite Raceboard Sprint 400 meters at the Philippine Deep Paddle Games on Siargao Island. He also holds the title of Fastest Stand Up Paddleboarder of the year.
On the fourth day of training with two hours on the water, Benedicto declared her ready for the crossing, impressed by her progress since their last session. “Your strokes have improved; you’ve leveled up. Let’s do this,” he told her, confirming their plan for the crossing that weekend.
Following Uygongco at the Iloilo to Negros crossing were four members of the Philippines Coast Guard in their own official vessel and a private motorized outrigger with two photographers, a couple who owned the said outrigger, and Uygongco’s driver.
Previous paddleboarding feats
Prior to her crossing from Iloilo to Negros Island, Uygongco was also the first woman to cross Iloilo to Guimaras via SUP on May 26, 2022 and repeated the same feat on June 10, 2022.
In her May attempt, she clocked one hour 31 minutes, and three seconds covering 7.38 kilometers from Villa 8 Restaurant at Iloilo City’s Villa Beach and docking at Barangay Morubuan in Jordan town in Guimaras.
On the second attempt, the mother of three took the same route and clocked 2 hours and 2 seconds.
She said she learned to do SUP when she got bored, having nothing to do during the COVID lockdown in 2021.
A new hobby was born when Uygongco spotted Benedicto on a paddle board on November 12, 2021, while capturing photos at the Iloilo River Esplanade for her blog.
Additionally, Benedicto excels in longboarding, skimboarding, surfing, outrigger canoe paddling, and serves as a Watersport Ambassador for Environmental Awareness.
Initially seeking permission to feature him on her blog, Uygongco later asked Benedicto if he could teach her paddle boarding. The following day marked their first lesson together.
During that time, Uygongco would practice paddle boarding early in the morning from Monday to Saturday, using an 11-foot-2-inch stand-up paddleboard (SUP) that was 30 inches wide and 4.5 inches thick.
Each day, she would paddle approximately 10 kilometers, spending around 2 hours and 18 minutes on the water, starting from the bridge at Ninoy Aquino Avenue (also known as Iloilo City Diversion Road) and making her way to Barangay Sooc in the Villa Arevalo District.
Advocacy for biking and promotion of Iloilo City
Prior to her passion for SUP, Uygongco has been taking photos of the Iloilo River and its development as well as other locations of Iloilo City in general.
She would post these in her blog as a way of helping the city with its tourism promotions. Even the official Iloilo City government Facebook page would share many of her posts, including the ones that scold city residents for littering or doing things that make the city unsightly.
“The Iloilo government gave us residents access to open space and nature is within reach; thus, I was able to develop this lifestyle – bike and paddle,” said Uygongo who added that if she were not a resident of Iloilo, she would not be doing what she does as a fitness buff.
“Consider the importance of balance and sustainability; other LGUs should do what Iloilo City is doing,” said Uygongco who considers herself a private citizen doing her best for her adopted city./PN
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With only three hours of sleep and encountering an hour of mild waves in Guimaras Strait, Lucy Lynette Ponce Uygongco keeps on paddling to have the distinction of becoming the first person to cross Iloilo to Negros on stand-up paddleboard.
