Former Cal Swimmer Sets Record In Swim Across Monterey Bay

MONTEREY BAY, CA — Last week, former UC Berkeley swimmer Catherine Breed became one of just six people to swim alone across Monterey Bay, wearing just a swim cap and goggles.

She braved the dark night, chilly Pacific Ocean waters, whale feces, bioluminescence and dozens of jellyfish stings before stumbling onto the shores of San Carlos Beach in Monterey on the heels of a likely record-setting swim that took 12 hours, 42 minutes and 14 seconds to complete the 25-mile course, according to the Monterey Bay Swimming Association. The swim time is pending ratification, the association said.

Breed, who also swam for Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton and the U.S. National team, said on her blog that she felt sick from a mixture of nerves, adrenaline and fear soon after kicking off her swim at 9 p.m. on Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, slathered in sunscreen.

"These waters are sharky and I could sense that the depths were teeming with life," she wrote.

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A post shared by Catherine Breed (@beyondtheblackline_) on Sep 20, 2020 at 11:11am PDT

As she approached the shores of Monterey, Breed said she had never been so happy to see kelp. She was greeted by the 3rd and 4th people to cross Monterey Bay. They gave her strength as she made the journey, Breed said.

While she could recall scenes from her swim, Breed said she mostly remembered "the dark and ... all the people who got me through it, not just the ones on the boat."

Breed raised $2,000 for Diversity in Aquatics, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

"Making swimming inclusive and diverse has always been my passion," she wrote on her blog. "I want to share my love for this sport with as many people as possible. I want everyone and anyone to see a water sport they want to try and feel they have the opportunity, support, and resources to do so."

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A post shared by Catherine Breed (@beyondtheblackline_) on Sep 14, 2020 at 8:21am PDT

Why Monterey Bay?

"Santa Cruz is a surf mecca, Monterey a diver’s dream. The Bay attracts fishermen/women, sailors, paddlers, scientists, travelers, and water people of all sorts," she wrote on her blog. "If there is one place that we can work to make aquatics more diverse and inclusive it is the waters from Santa Cruz to Monterey."

Read Breed's blog entries on the swim here and here.

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A post shared by Catherine Breed (@beyondtheblackline_) on Sep 23, 2020 at 5:00pm PDT

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A post shared by Catherine Breed (@beyondtheblackline_) on Sep 22, 2020 at 9:39am PDT

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A post shared by Catherine Breed (@beyondtheblackline_) on Sep 21, 2020 at 11:25pm PDT