Bay Area Woman Becomes First Person To Swim CA Coast, Passing Whales And Great Whites

BAY AREA, CA —In 2025, Catherine Breed decided to do what no one else had yet accomplished: she would swim the length of California's coast. On Sunday she became the first person in recorded history to do it.

Breed swam California’s entire 900-mile path, completing an expedition that combined months of endurance swimming with fundraising and ocean conservation work.

The project, Swim California, covered the coast from Pelican State Beach in Del Norte County at the Oregon border to Imperial Beach in San Diego County at the Mexican border.

Breed completed the route through separate swimming stages, wearing a wetsuit and receiving crew support.

The Mill Valley resident swam sections in different directions along the coast. The stages did not always begin where the previous one ended. The format allowed breaks between swims.

Breed averaged more than 10 miles a day, passing the Golden Gate Bridge, swimming through Monterey Bay’s kelp forests, and rounding Point Conception near Santa Barbara, and through great white shark nurseries in Southern California, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Supporters tracked her progress on social media and gathered along the route to cheer her on.

A pacer supplied protein shakes in a thermos while Breed swam. Her support crew traveled aboard a 52-foot sailboat, and the group went ashore each night before returning to resume swimming. Weather sometimes stalled their progress through remote sections of the coast.

“For months, I measured my world in the next few miles,” Breed told the Chronicle. “Every message from someone following along, every person who came out to cheer, helped me get back in the water.”

Sea Dreamers

Breed undertook the swim to raise money and awareness for Sea Dreamers, the nonprofit she founded to help people experience and protect the ocean.

The organization connects women with ocean activities, sports, and communities, building a network of ocean enthusiasts and adventurers.

Breed also advocates for greater access and representation for women and underrepresented communities in ocean spaces.

Throughout the expedition, she met with coastal communities and called attention to the places and marine life she encountered.

“I saw whales beneath me, plastic beside me, and communities giving their time to look after these places,” Breed told the Chronicle. “I hope people who followed this journey choose one place they love and find a way to take care of it.”

The journey also brought close views of great white sharks.

Earlier this month, shark documentarian Carlos Gauna, known on YouTube as The Malibu Artist, joined Breed on the 89th day of her swim to document one of her 10-mile stretches.

His drone captured a juvenile great white several yards from Breed’s support boat. After she finished swimming that day, the team returned to look for more sharks and spotted three different great whites in 20 minutes.

Superpower

Breed grew up in Pleasanton and began swimming for the U.S. National Team while attending Amador Valley High School.

She later competed at UC Berkeley, where she ranked among the school’s all-time top 10 in several events.

In 2016, she joined San Francisco’s Dolphin Club. Its cold water, powerful tides, and community of experienced swimmers helped draw her from pool competition into open-water exploration.

That year, the Marathon Swimmers Federation nominated her for Solo Swim of the Year after she completed a 21-mile Lake Tahoe crossing in 8 hours, 56 minutes, and 16 seconds.

Her other marathon swims have included the English Channel, the North Channel, Monterey Bay, and Lake Del Valle in Livermore. She writes about her experiences through her Beyond The Blackline blog.

In 2025, Breed, became the seventh person and the third woman in the world to complete the treacherous 30-mile open ocean swim between the Farallon Islands and the Golden Gate Bridge. She completed the swim in 13 hours, 54 minutes, and 23 seconds.

Even then, Breed was planning a swim along California’s entire coast.

According to her friends, she loves to say, “Grit is your superpower.”

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