Around The World Submerged
RUFINO
CNO's orders were to circumnavigate the earth undetected by both enemy and friendly forces. During the entire 42,000 miles voyage, the man in this photo is the only person who saw us that wasn't supposed to. His name is Rufino Baring and he lives on Mactan Island in the Philippines. When Ned Beach put the periscope up in Magellan Bay on 1 April, he was eyeball-to-eyeball with this young man, close aboard. Ned and Rufino studied each other carefully. Joe Roberts of National Geographic snapped his picture. As Triton moved ahead of Rufino, Bill Marshall said, "Wonder what he's going to tell his friends in Cebu City tonight?"
When the voyage was over, National Geographic went looking for Rufino - and found him. When questioned, Rufino said he thought Triton was a sea monster. To protect himself from further meetings with sea monsters, Baring painted the names of St. Peter and St. Paul on his banca. Ironically, a man named Jesus Baring, perhaps a relative of Rufino, has guarded the Magellan monument on Mactan Island since 1976.