Catalina Channel - 25 August 2013
The Catalina Channel swim is from Santa Catalina Island to the coast of Southern California, ending near Los Angeles. It’s a 20-mile crossing, similar in distance to the English Channel but exposed to the Pacific, where the water can reach 1,000 metres deep. In A Life Well Swum, the attempt nearly falls apart before it begins but it becomes the swim where family comes together.
Facts & Background
Distance: 20 miles (32 kilometres)
Route: Santa Catalina Island to the mainland south of Los Angeles, USA
Governing body: Catalina Channel Swimming Federation
Cost (as at 2013): $3,000 (about £2,000), plus a $500 Federation fee
Santa Catalina Island is southwest of Los Angeles, with around 4,000 residents. The Catalina Channel crosses the Pacific Ocean between Catalina and the mainland and is up to 900 metres deep. It is usually swum overnight, with starts around midnight to avoid the winds that rise in the afternoon.
The first successful crossing was in 1927 by George Young, in a high-profile swim. The Catalina Channel is often described as the American counterpart to the English Channel, because of the distance, but the conditions are different. Water temperatures are warmer, but there are big ocean swells, marine life, and deep offshore waters.
By 2013, just over 260 swimmers had completed the crossing. It forms part of the US version of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming along with the English Channel and Round Manhattan.
Photographs from the Day
The standard route starts from Doctor’s Cove at the top of the island and heads north towards the mainland near Point Vicente. Most Catalina swims begin in the middle of the night to finish before the afternoon winds. The swimmer follows the lights of the escort through black water, aware of marine life below that cannot be seen.
I've kept some of the documents from the swim.