A Bay Area woman made history when she swam some 900 miles, which meant navigating hurricanes and tropical storms in an experience that was sometimes grueling and sometimes magical over the course of several months.
Endurance swimmer Catherine Breed, 33, became the first person to swim across California when she emerged from the water on Monday after crossing the latitude of the California-Mexico border.
“It’s exciting,” Breed told The Times on Tuesday by phone from San Diego. “I’m very proud of this team and it’s definitely a joy, but also a relief that it’s over and done with and we made it.”
Technically, Breed completed the journey from Oregon to Mexico in a private location three miles offshore to avoid the Tijuana River’s sewage and pollution crisis.
To cap off a 111-day journey that began in July, Breed celebrated Monday at Coronado Beach. She swam from the high seas to the coast and climbed onto the beach, where guests were encouraged to “stay dry and cheer loudly on the beach.”
Breed grew up in Pleasanton and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a member of the swim team. A knee injury put her off college swimming, but after graduation she began swimming long distances in open water, including many in the Bay Area. Soon, she was breaking records and setting bigger goals.
When Breed spoke to The Times in February as she prepared for the daring journey, she admitted she was nervous about the jellyfish and the wind.
Ultimately, the jellyfish didn’t cause any problems, although she said she did have some “pretty magical” encounters with dolphins and sea lions.
The weather is unpredictable. Some days, she says, are just “amazing.” One of her favorite moments was along the coast of Big Sur, when she ended a day of swimming and rested on the Catalyst (the 52-foot sailboat she lived in during the cruise) while her group jumped in the water and splashed around.
Other days are hard. El Niño “mixes water in a way that I don’t think we’ve ever seen in history,” Breed said. The team has weathered tropical storms, hurricanes and Kelvin waves. Breed said she had to swim part of the way in the opposite direction from south to north to avoid fighting the current.
Before you ask: Yes, there are sharks, but Breed says her team spotted the fins from so far away that they “weren’t even part of the swim.” She did say, however, that staying a few miles offshore can help avoid being mistaken for shark food.
Staying one to five miles from shore also helps avoid man-made obstacles, including crab pots. When planning the route, “we didn’t exactly follow every curve of the coast,” she said.
When asked if she would recommend it to others after going through the journey, Breed laughed.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “What I would recommend to others is to get into the ocean…The California coast is so beautiful and I would recommend people get into the ocean in whatever way you feel comfortable with.
“It doesn’t have to be swimming,” she added. She said she hopes her journey will inspire others to join groups protecting the ocean.
Breed’s time away from the ocean didn’t last long. On Tuesday, she went surfing in Point Loma.
“It’s nice to feel like you’re not tied down by a time or a task,” she says, “and can just enjoy it with friends.”