Penny Lee Dean Ed.D. (70, USA, MSF bio here) is a renowned marathon swimmer, a long-time USA Swimming national team coach, a pioneering administrator, a record-setting channel swimmer (both the English Channel and Catalina Channel), an author*, a dual International Swimming Hall of Fame and International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee, and, quite simply, an icon in the sport.
For over 48 years, her record crossing of the Catalina Channel still stands.**
She talked about her crossing of the Catalina Channel on September 1st 1976 when she was 21 and had just graduated from Pomona-Pitzer College in Claremont, California – where she gave a commencement speech in 2023. “In 1975, I met the Orca open water swim team coached by Siga Gudmonson Albrecht. I began swimming with this group. In November, Siga discussed with each of us if we wanted to swim the Catalina Channel in the fall of 1976. I also joined Lakewood Aquatics coached by Olympic coach Jim Montrella. The latter was to increase my speed in the pool and the ocean.
To monitor my training, I kept a log for both the pool and ocean training. Besides the mileage, I included my sleep hours, what I consumed, and how I felt in each practice.
I met Lynne Cox during a two-mile ocean swim. Afterwards, I had the pleasure of speaking with her and told her I wanted to swim the English Channel as she had. She suggested I swim the Catalina Channel first. She felt it was a tougher challenge because of the colder water, sharks, and whales. I took Lynne’s advice.
Later in the summer, our team met with our pilot, Mickey Pittman. On one occasion, he took us out in the channel off of Cabrillo Beach. We had the opportunity to adjust to the waves, to cold water, and to swim adjacent to his boat.
The men’s and women’s world record for the Catalina Channel one-way crossing was held by Lynne in a time of 8 hours 48 minutes. My goal was to break that record. The scariest part of the swim was that it occurred at night. To deal with this, our group swam at night near the California coast on a few occasions. At the first practice, a fish ran into my side. I felt it turn and swim away. The fish felt more
nervous than I was, probably.
My swim was planned for the night of September 1st from the California mainland on the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Catalina Island. I tapered for eight days, decreasing my mileage from 9 miles to 1 mile the day before the swim.
I decided to incorporate the Protein-Carbohydrate diet that I had used in college. For 4 days, I only ate protein, followed by 4 days of only carbohydrates. The body thinks no more sugar will be available, so the body stores more protein then more carbohydrates. It is a very dangerous diet as one is depleted when it is used and it affects recovery time.
Siga invited me to her home four days prior to the swim. She wanted to regulate my diet, my mental state, and keep me relaxed. I was her first swimmer to attempt the Catalina Channel, so this was useful for both of us. This worked well.
At about 6:00 pm, I had pancakes for dinner. A few hours later, Dottie York picked us up and we headed to Marineland for the start of the swim. Numerous friends came to watch the beginning of the swim.
Mickey’s boat was 400 yards offshore. Once Siga and Paul were on the boat, there were two gunshots. The first was a warning to begin the swim and the latter was the start.
As I waded through the waves into the cold water, a small fish went down my swimsuit. I had to reach in and take out the fish. Unfortunately, I got Vaseline on my hand and later this was transferred to my goggles. This made my goggles begin to leak and I had to have them replaced a few hours later.
There wasn’t any breeze so the diesel fumes from the boat became a problem. I was getting seasick from the smell. To alleviate this, I was dropped two hundred yards behind the boat. I didn’t like this as I couldn’t see Siga or Syndi Goldenson, the only two who were awake beside the navigator. I was swimming between two paddlers, however. This did help a bit.
My feeding breaks were scheduled for every two hours. I was drinking 6 ounces of ERG, an Electrolyte Replacement of Glucose. At the same time, I was told my stroke counts and the distance I had swum. I began to get hungry, so I asked for a break. I was told 15 minutes by my paddler. This was very difficult. I began to shake, and I asked again. I was still behind the boat so I couldn’t see Siga and she couldn’t see me. These were the longest 15 minutes I had ever swum.
At the four-hour mark I was given my second break. I asked my primary paddler how far I had swum. He had no idea, but guessed about seven miles. This wasn’t good. 7 miles was depressing. I yelled to Siga and asked how far I had really swum. I had calculated I should have swum over ten miles. If I had only swum seven miles, I wouldn’t break the record.
I watched every step Siga took, climbing up to the navigator’s cabin. It took a few minutes, then she returned to the side of the boat. She smiled and told me 11 miles. After the break, I took off in an all-out sprint and held this for the rest of the swim. I had been depressed, but had done well. I had been maintaining 84-86 strokes per minute. As I began pushing myself, I increased my stroke count to 88 strokes per minute. I gave 100% for the rest of the swim.
At 7:15 am I landed at Doctor’s Cove. My time was 7 hours 15 minutes and 55 seconds, a new record by 1 hour and 33 minutes. I was happy and so was my crew. Then I realized my family who were on the island all night weren’t at the finish. I was paddled back to the boat, and we headed for the Isthmus.
After quite some time, a small boat approached. It was my family. I was so happy to see them until my mom asked why we didn’t wait for them. What if they had gone by jeep to Doctor’s Cove? My mom was pissed and walked away without acknowledging my time and record.
I had lived this scene before. My sister and brother congratulated me and hugged me. We returned to the Isthmus where Siga and the crew headed back to the mainland. While my family packed, I was interviewed by a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. An hour later, we returned to San Pedro on the Catalina Cruiser. I went and laid down with my head on my mom’s lap. She asked about the swim on the way back. She had calmed down.
For my next swim, whether a double crossing of Catalina or the English Channel, I had to make sure everything went smoothly.”
Published Books
- Just Try One More
- Open Water Swimming: A Complete Guide for Distance Swimmers and Triathletes
- How To Swim A Marathon
- History of Catalina Swims
Top 10 Fastest Catalina Channel Crossings in History
- 7:15:55 by Penny Lee Dean, USA, Mainland-Catalina in September 1976
- 7:27:25 by Grace van der Byl, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 2012
- 7:37:31 by Pete Huisveld, USA, Mainland-Catalina in August 1992
- 7:41:14 by John York, USA, Mainland-Catalina in September 1978 (first leg of a 2-way)
- 7:43:06 by Karen Burton, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 1994
- 7:55:06 by Hank Wise, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 2018
- 8:04:12 by Ceinwen Elizabeth Roberts, Australia, Catalina-Mainland in September 2014
- 8:05:44 by Todd Robinson, USA, Catalina-Mainland in August 2009
- 8:07:03 by Hank Wise, USA, Catalina-Mainland in October 2010
- 8:07:37 by Hank Wise, USA, Mainland-Catalina in June 2015
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