Bay Area woman becomes 1st person to swim entire 900-mile California coast
One Mill Valley woman just made history as the first person to swim all 900 miles of the California coastline.
Catherine Breed, 33, says her remarkable feat was about more than just breaking records. She wanted to bring attention to ocean conservation and inspire more women and girls to take on ambitious goals.
Breed not only finished her historic journey on Sunday - but finished it ahead of schedule.
She started the 900-mile swim on July 1 at the Oregon border. For four months, she swam south towards the Mexican border.
She averaged about 10 miles a day with her support crew following alongside her. During the swim, Breed lived on a 52-foot sailboat.
There were strict rules about how she could complete the journey. When we spoke with her back in August, she explained how they made sure every mile counted.
“During the swim time, I cannot touch the boat. Then when the swim’s done for the day, we mark that GPS coordinate and we go back to it the next day to resume the stage part of the swim.”
Breed faced extremely difficult ocean conditions during the journey, but the 9-time open water record holder managed to finish ahead of her original November timeline.
She grew up along the California coast and says she wanted to take on this challenge because of her love for the ocean.
