With a passion for the sea and environment, eight-year-old Zac Bugeja will be taking on his first big swimming challenge in September, as he attempts to swim non-stop for 2.2 kilometres from Gerbulin to Slugs Bay in Mellieħa and back.

Zac has one mission: he wants to raise awareness about the environment and plastic pollution.

“Plastic in the sea will kill or trap fish and other creatures. A sea with no creatures is like a pancake with no chocolate, which is pretty boring,” Zac says.

It is hard for Zac not to have a love for swimming and nature, since ultra-distance swimmer Neil Agius has been his coach since he was just six months old.

Agius taught Zac, then aged three, how to float and swim, and last September the boy joined the St Julian’s elite squad under Agius and his team of coaches.

Agius, the former Olympian and environmental activist, completed a record-breaking swim from the Sicilian island of Linosa to Malta, earlier this week. He swam for around 52 hours non-stop to achieve that feat. 

Neil and Zac during one of their swimming sessions. Photo: Lucianne Bugeja

Inspired by Neil Agius

“My coach, Neil, has inspired me to take on this challenge and to raise more awareness about plastic,” Zac said enthusiastically.

Zac’s father, Gordon Bugeja, is one of the board members of ‘Wave of Change’ Foundation, the campaign dedicated to raising awareness about ocean litter.

“I always hear my dad making phone calls and plans for the big swimming challenge, and it’s so exciting to hear what they are talking about.”

He describes feeling ‘relaxed, calm and happy’ while swimming, as he looks down at the sea bottom and listens to the sound of the waves.

Training for his swim

This is the first time Zac will be swimming 2.2km in the sea, and he has already started his training.

“Three times a week I have a one-hour pool session, and once a week I go swimming with my dad for 30 minutes in the sea. I never swam such a distance before, but I am really excited.”

On the day, Zac will be joined by a support team – his father, mother Lucianne and three of his classmates.

“While I am swimming, my mum and friend will stay close to me on a stand-up paddle, and my two other friends will be with my dad on an inflatable boat, passing me water and small energy snacks.”

Agius said that Zac’s challenge will be tough since it is a long-distance to swim for a young child, but that with training and determination, he is positive he will complete the challenge.

Photo: Lucianne Bugeja

“Really, it is all about the journey, not the destination. Each step of the way we are inspiring and motivating people that anything is possible,” Agius said.

Speaking about his challenge on World Ocean Day earlier this month during a school presentation, Zac urged his Grade 4 classmates at San Anton School to pick up plastic when they are on the beach and to try reducing the volume of single-use plastic used at home.

Zac plans to continue training and swimming and hopes to scuba dive and explore the ocean in the future, so that he can swim with whales and dolphins.

His mother, Lucianne remembers how from a young age Zac was passionate about the sea.

“We would watch the TV programme Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, and Zac would look at me with his big eye and say ‘mummy look! When I am older, I want to swim with big humpback whales’”.