About a year ago, my brother David announced that he was going to attempt the swim from Catalina to Long Beach. On top of accomplishing an amazing goal, he also wanted to follow in my grandma’s footsteps as the first woman to ever swim the exact same route. She was 38 at the time, and he is currently 38…so now was the time.
A bunch of us (anyone who wasn’t going to get sea sick) headed to Long Beach to the chartered boat that would stay beside him the entire time. Out of all the attempts, only 159 people have made the trek successfully, and only one other person has done it this late in the season. The main reason it is considered late is because the water temp is very cold, and the swimmers are only allowed speedos to wear. At 60 degrees, most people thought he was crazy, but you have to know David to apreciate this whole endeavor.
When we reached Catalina at about 11:00pm, he jumped out into the pitch black water…..swam to land to officially start on dry land……then turned around for the over 20 mile swim. He was wearing glow sticks so we could see him somewhat, but to think about being in black cold water, with black skies in only a speedo is a little creepy.
He chose the breast stroke, because he has really strong legs. All 5 of the officials that were along were saying that is a crazy stroke to choose because it is slower than the others, and with exception of the butterfly, the breast stroke takes up the most energy. He was doing great for a very long time, but about 5 hours in, he was throwing up in the water. I never did find out if it was sea sickness that happens often on this swim, or all of the salt water he drank. Anyway, at that time, we sent Ryan in to accompany him. We were a little nervous at first, because Ryan is a total jokester, and the rule is that David can NOT touch anyone or he would be disqualified. So as Ryan was ready to hop in, everyone warned him about 1000 times to not touch David!
About 2 1/2 hours later, Ryan was still in the water. David was doing a ton better and was looking really strong and methodical. The whole time Ryan was in the water, everyone was cracking up. He kept diving down into the water, spitting water out of his mouth and begging for people to throw him swedish fish. But after 2 1/2 hours, the officials said that Ryan wasn’t fooling around anymore, and we needed to get him in to rehydrate and eat. Ryan totally wanted to stay out with David, but he followed the ruling.
In the meantime, I was totally bummed that I didn’t have any gear to use. I totally had the itch, and really wanted to get in. Tarzan — one of the officials who is a world renowned paddle boarder told me that he had a wetsuit that would fit me….and my belly. I tried it on, and it zipped up over my 8 month pregnant belly….so I was next in. When I hit the water, it took me about a minute to fully catch my breath. It was freezing cold! I got over to David, and was going to try and swim with him for two feedings. (Every 20 minutes, he would feed on Cytomax, Gatorade, and possibly a GU — nothing solid) I made it through the first, and was about 10 minutes into the second when I was falling behind David. I decided to swim over to the boat and make it a wrap. I did 30 minutes…and I can feel it today! (Note to self — start working out again so I can have some more stamina!) After I swam, Jake swam and then Brook did. Then Ryan wanted to jump in again, and he was with David until the end.
During the swim, we experienced many cool things. In the water, we saw a ton of sea lions, some dorsel fins belonging to dolphins, a sea snake, a handful of jellyfish, and tons of fish. The sunrise was breathtaking, and so peaceful. Right after I was swimming we saw a HUGE ship that was carrying semi’s somewhere cross right in front of us. (I couldn’t believe the size of this thing….and how fast it was going.)
We passed the time by eating a ton - thanks to Megan…sister of the year. We also played games, and some slept when they could. We loved watching and cheering for David, and just talking and laughing with eachother. It was a great time.
The water was really calm and nice, but at about mile 16 David hit a rip tide. You could tell he was losing steam — who wouldn’t be after 14 hours of swimming. The officials started watching closer, and the captain came out and announced that he had swam for the last hour without moving. I think there was great concern because the very last guy that attempted this swim lost it and started to sink. The kayaker jumed in to rescue him, and he had to be life flighted out. When he left on the helicopter he didn’t have a pulse, and it was very scary. They retrieved him at the hospital, but said that the only reason he was okay was because he was in such cold water, his organs didn’t completely shut down. So after that story, their sensors were up.
They told David what the status was. They told him at his pace it would take another 8 hours to finish the swim, and David made the call that he didn’t have it in him. He said that his body had shut down 2 hours previously, and he had two really painful shoulders and two pretty painful knees. He called the race with a little left to go, and headed to the boat. When he got in, his face was completely swollen. His tongue was totally white and really swollen. He was shaking from the freezing water, that he said never warmed up to him. And he was pretty emotional — obviously!
We wrapped him in blankets and put hand warmers all over him. We got a little hot choclate and PB & J down him. We kept talking to him to make sure he was coherent…..and some questioned that, as he was talking about the “next time”. After a bit, we put him in a warm shower and headed back to Long Beach.
He was in good spirits, and we are all really proud of him. When we got home, Tristen had a cake for him — an ice cream one that he passed on probably because he wasn’t interested in anything cold for a long while. The next morning, he said mentally he was great, but physically he felt like he was waking up from a long coma and trying to learn how to use his body all over again. He told us that when he showered that he had shampoo in his hand, but couldn’t get it to his head for anything.
It was a very impressive attempt, and everyone agrees that the next will be successful. It just needs to be warmer water, so more of his energy can be spent on the swim itself. Nice job David! Next time Ryan (who completed over 5 hours of swimming strongly and without training with David) and Jakey want to join in on the official swim! I, on the other hand, will stick to my 30 minute hop in!
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