Nearly four months ago, Catherine Breed, a 33-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area, embarked on a historic mission to swim the entire California coastline—from its northernmost point to the Mexican border. She and her support crew braced for shark encounters and storms. What they didn’t expect was to complete this marathon swim during a year of unprecedented super El Niño conditions.
After evading hurricanes, wildlife, and 8-foot waves in an unusually turbulent Pacific Ocean, Breed finally marked the finish of her journey on a San Diego beach Monday.
Ultra-endurance swimmer Catherine Breed navigated waves, wildlife, and pollution to become the first person to swim from the state’s northernmost tip to the Mexico border.