Bay

The Motivator: 10 questions for Catherine Breed, the only person to swim the 900-mile coastline of California.

Catherine Breed in action. Photo from Swim California.

Catherine Breed's live tracker as of September 25, 2026. Image courtesy of Swim California.

Catherine Breed is currently swimming the entire length of the California coast, about 900 miles from Oregon to Mexico. She started this journey in July, and as of today, September 25th, Catherine is near Santa Barbara and has already swum 659 miles.

This Bay Area-based swimmer honed her skills at Aquatic Park, San Francisco. Bonnie Tsui and Judy Irving spotlighted this place and its subculture of misfits and mavericks, who motivate one another with sayings like, “only the bold swim in the cold.” For generations, Aquatic Park has served as both a playground for water sprites swimming leisurely laps around the Cove and also a training ground for serious athletes preparing for something bigger. Swimming from Alcatraz or across the span of the Golden Gate Bridge is merely a small step for these swimmers who have their foggy goggles focused on the English Channel or Oceans Seven.

In that context of bravado and brash optimism, maybe the impossible doesn’t seem so out of reach, after all. When you see Catherine swim, with each stroke slicing through the water, you’re seeing the living ideal of grit, determination, and human willpower. No excuses, just action. And maybe that’s the real magic of Catherine Breed, because by raising the bar so high, she embodies a new dimension of motivation.

Catherine has already made history simply by being the only person to ever have attempted anything like this. No one else has dared to even try it, let alone come this far. When she completes this milestone, she will have earned the rarest feat in sports. Because while climbing Everest or winning the SuperBowl are certainly remarkable achievements, no one person can say they’re the only ones to have accomplished those feats. So even if Catherine doesn't make the front of a Wheaties cereal box or have a shoe named after her (if those are supposed to be the perks reserved for our best athletes), what Catherine will always have is an undisputed place in sports history, an unforgettable moment for collective memory.

Catherine Breed photo from Swim California.

Many thanks to Catherine Breed and her team for taking the time during this historic swim to answer the following ten questions.

Catherine Breed at Aquatic Park. Photo from Swim California.

[SV] Please share your earliest memory of swimming in the open water of San Francisco Bay. Please share what led you to Aquatic Park, and describe the feeling or sensation. Were you "hooked" immediately or did it take some getting used to?

[CB]

"In 2016 I jumped off Muni Pier into Aquatic Park and the next few weeks joined the Dolphin Club. My first swim was post ACL surgery and I swam with the current from the Bay Bridge to Aquatic Park. I was immediately hooked, it was one of the most unique and special ways I had ever experienced the SF Bay."

[SV] Please share any words of support or inspiration that a friend or family member shared with you that may have encouraged you to turn the vision of this swim into a reality.

[CB]

"It was so many people that instead of saying this is crazy or impossible said I want to help, I am on your team. So many have offered their time, advice, talents to make this a reality."

[SV] You already made history simply by endeavoring to accomplish what no one else has. Please describe that experience. What has the media attention been like?

[CB]

"The media has been overwhelmingly positive. I think in our current political climate everyone needs something positive to rally behind and women's sports has been that, or at least in my social media algorithm. It is an honor to be one of the women doing something big this year and it is a privilege to inspire other women and girls to go after big goals.

Most of the negativity online is about my, according to the internet experts, “desire to be shark food.” I find that those comments come from people who do not spend any time in the ocean. The ocean is amazing and while we have seen only 4-5 sharks from a far distance in over 650 miles we have seen HUNDREDS of whales and dolphins and sea birds and sea lions."

[SV] How do you stay balanced and focused on your goal when there can be so many distractions?

[CB]

"LOL I don’t. I just try to enjoy the few hours of quiet I get while swimming and to be REALLY excited when we have a beautiful day on the coast. Having a great team has helped with the distractions, they have done an incredible job fielding everything and helping me tell the story of this swim and our coastline."

[SV] What are you thinking about when you swim?

[CB]

"Usually when I get to eat next (every 30 min), what my pace is, and I am constantly adjusting my stroke to the ocean conditions in order to protect my shoulders and joints. Today I got to swim with a dozen or more bottlenose dolphins and I thought how lucky I am that I GET to do this."

[SV] During this swim, what's a typical day like for you?

[CB]

"Crew wakes up 6am and starts the boat. I wake up but stay in bed and check the current and wind forecasts. We motor to the GPS start point 1-2 hours. I get ready an hour before by eating what I can, stretching, Theragun.

30 minutes before I swim we do a medical check and a morning briefing on the plan and conditions.

I swim 2-5 hours depending on the weather window and how far we have to motor after the swim. That is usually 6-12 miles.

Post swim I rinse off with a bucket of warm water, change into warm clothes and eat what the crew has prepared. Up north when the water was 46-53 [degrees] Fahrenheit [7.7 - 11.6 degrees Celcius] I would stay in my berth for hours shivering. Now I sit on deck and enjoy the sun.

After an hour we all have lunch during the transit back to our shelter for the night. That can be anywhere from 1-6 hours. We pick up, dock or anchor, have dinner and bed by 8 for the crew. I typically watch a show, read, or post on social, then do my nightly recovery and go to bed around 930/10."

Night swim prep (2025). Photo from Swim California.

[SV] Are you swimming in the dark at night? What’s that like?

[CB]

"I am not because it has not been in our safety protocol to do so. In my past marathon swims I have and it is scary at first but once you settle into the night it becomes cathartic. The bioluminescence are amazing at night. It's an amazing experience."

Night swimming isn't for everyone (2025). Photo from Swim California.

[SV] Any dramatic moments or close-calls? (Wildlife encounters? Lost items? Boat encounters? Severe weather?).

[CB]

"We are able to forecast weather and the team has done an incredible job with that. On the north coast we did have a day where the winds picked up much earlier than expected and hit 40 knots [46 miles per hour or 74 kilometers per hour], I got out of the water and we were able to tuck in along the Lost Coast.

The only wildlife encounters I have had have been with marine mammals that are curious about what I am and what I am doing.

The crew is made up of expert sailors who are yacht masters. Our captain has over 100,000 NM [nautical miles] under her belt, with that amount of experience and professionalism I do not expect any close calls.

If the crew does see a fin even from very far away I get out, we had that happen a couple times north of Trinidad but the shark was a about 3-4ft salmon shark so we felt comfortable to continue the swim."

"Comfortable with the sea life" from a young age. Photo from Swim California.

[SV] What would you say about keeping San Francisco Bay open and accessible for recreational use, whether that be for swimming, sailing, rowing, etc.?

[CB]

"The SF Bay and for that matter all the ocean is for EVERYONE. It is imperative that not only does it stay accessible for recreational use but that it also is a welcoming space for everyone. Creating advocates for a space starts when someone falls in love with how they can experience that space. That is part of the reason I founded Sea Dreamers— to get more women and girls into the ocean via sailing, surfing, swimming, marine research—you name it. That is also why I am proud to say Swim California is a female led expedition, to show other young female sailors strong role models."

[SV] Are there certain technologies or innovations that you've found particularly useful or have thought about during your swim?

[CB]

"I have been using mainly Predict Wind and Windy we prefer the HRR and ECMWF models. The Tidal, Mercator and RTOFS current models are used to see what directions the ocean currents are going and we double check that with NULLSCHOOL.

Most technology is not showing what we are experiencing, it has been a constant puzzle that we are having to figure out in real time. Wind of course has been fairly accurate on the models."