The word around the Ocean City Aquatics and Fitness Center last week was that Bruckner Chase had fallen in love with American Samoa—that he'd been named some sort of ceremonial island chief and that he was never coming back.

It was a joke ... sort of. But anybody who knows Chase had to wonder if it were true.

The 45-year-old Bay Avenue resident was in the South Pacific to attempt a nine-mile swim to raise awareness for a National Marine Sanctuary there and to promote water safety on a set of tropical islands where very few people know how to swim.

Chase is one of those rare individuals who has been able to turn his passion into a profession. He's a long-distance swimmer, and he's partnering with the National Marine Sanctuaries organization to bring attention to marine habitats and ecosystems by completing "expedition swims."

Chase flew to American Samoa to attempt a nine-mile swim May 14 from the small island of Aunu’u back to Utulei, the main harbor on American Samoa. The swim was part of a two-week trip raising awareness for the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary. But the trip also involved fulfilling a request of the governor of American Samoa to conduct clinics combining ancestral ocean knowledge from local village elders with modern ocean swimming and safety skills.  

That put Chase is close contact with with native Samoans, and it wasn't long before the Tweets and Facebook posts started coming:

• "American Samoa is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen with the most incredible people. In just 48 hrs we are transformed."
• "We may leave American Samoa, but this place will never leave us."

The spiritual tone of the updates may seem contrived. But they are in perfect keeping with a man who is able to lose himself in his endeavors. And they had the regular crowd at the Aquatics Center wondering just how much Chase did love Samoa.

Upset over a failed attempt to swim the English Channel in 2006 (six-foot swells and nasty weather), Chase came home and completed a solo swim 22 miles around Absecon Island. That started a yearly quest to circumnavigate barrier islands on the Jersey Shore, including Ocean City. That's the mindset of the man.

Last summer, Chase became only the second person to swim across Monterey Bay in California. In an interview after the 25-mile, 14-hour swim, Chase talked about being at one with the ocean ("As a swimmer, I am intimately connected to the water ...") and that attracted the attention of the National Marine Sanctuaries.

The agency now sponsors Chase in planning and executing swims near sanctuaries throughout the world.

On "BIG SWIM DAY," as Saturday was known in American Samoa, Chase entered the 85-degree water at 9 a.m. and was greeted by hundreds of cheering islanders about four-and-a-half hours later at Utulei. The Sharks of Samoana native canoe team escorted him into the harbor, and the governor hailed him as a hero and role model.

"I am so blessed that your ocean allowed me to do this today, and I hope that we will treasure this and take care of it ... because I owe it a debt of gratitude," Chase told the Samoa News. "This is a huge accomplishment for all of us. This is a community swim and the next time I come back, I expect more people out in the water with me. This is something for all of us. These things connect us together, they connect our family and now we have your family as well."

But we're happy to report that Chase and his wife, Michelle, did board a return flight, and returned to Ocean City on Wednesday night. Stay posted for updates when we catch up with Chase later this week.