Catalina Channel Swim July 14-15th, 2022
Synopsis On July 14 th , 2022 around 11:15 PM, I began my 32.3 km Catalina Channel swim crossing from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland and completed in 13 hours 32 minutes. It was a dark night with no visible moon or stars, the sea was calm and the water was cooler than I hoped for with temperatures ranging from 66°F to 62°F. My initial reaction was this was hard. The cold water was a challenge for much of the swim consuming me both physically and mentally. However, another friend when completing the following week said he was ‘overwhelmed.’ Yes! That more holistically describes how I felt. My training worked, my body was strong, and I was able to hold my stroke rate. I had a great team supporting to include my coach Denis Crean and friend and swim partner Tom Hull, kayakers Steve and Ryland Sutton, observers Roxanne and Robin Hipolito and the Pacific Moon dive boat Captain Harvey and cr...