Jeremias Mateo Castillo (43, Spain, MSF bio here, @jereswim, aka Jere Mateo) is a Spanish adventurer, mountain climber, and paraswimmer who got into swimming after a terrible mountain climbing accident.
He completed a crossing of the Catalina Channel, his fourth channel of the Oceans Seven and explains his journey below:
The Ocean Rules, But We Choose How to Swim It: Catalina Island Goal Achieved (4/7)
The 2025–2026 season has come to a close, and if I had to summarize it in a single word, it would be learning. It has been a brilliant, intense, and eye-opening journey.
When I first set out on the Oceans Seven challenge a few years ago, my core purpose was clear: to use every single crossing to raise visibility for the community of people with disabilities. I wanted my swims—following in the footsteps of those who came before me—to serve as a living testament that a disability should never limit us when we set our sights on massive goals. This year brought several major milestones. Almost all of them were fought and conquered as a team, sharing the grit, except for one: this season’s ultimate solo mission. The Catalina Channel.
The Warm-Up: Swimming for a Cause and Building Momentum
Before hitting California waters, the path started closer to home. In May, I dove into the Swim For ELA: a 23 km journey along the Catalan coast of Spain, aimed solely at raising funds for individuals and families affected by ALS. While it can be done as a relay, I chose to swim the entire distance. A cause like this deserved nothing less than my full effort.
In June, the bar was raised at the famous Batalla de Rande in Galicia. We faced 27 grueling kilometers across the Ría de Vigo, fighting cold waters and heavy currents. Fortunately, I swam side-by-side with Emma Vockins (27, Great Britain, MSF bio here), an incredibly experienced swimmer who knows this specific race inside out alongside many of Europe’s toughest ultra-distance events.
Barely a week later, on June 28th, I found myself back at the Strait of Gibraltar. I had already crossed it in 2022 with a great time, but this time my motivation was different: sharing the ocean with two close friends and veteran long-distance swimmers, Marcos Rodríguez and Jordi González, alongside the great Iskander Sagarminaga Ateaga—a phenomenal Basque swimmer who is also tackling the Oceans Seven. For 4 hours and 4 minutes, we truly enjoyed the sea and each other’s company. Only at the very end did the ocean remind us who was boss, turning choppy and complicating our final meters—almost as a warning of what lay ahead.
Catalina: Cracking the Psychological Wall
Then came Catalina. My weather window opened on the night of August 4th. We had the support boat Pacific Star ready, my kayakers Jeffrey Rake and John Trevino guiding me in the water, and official observers Jill Hanson and the legendary Don Van Cleve monitoring from the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation .
On paper, the conditions looked perfect: virtually no wind, exceptionally warm water temperatures for the area, and minimal swell. But the Pacific never hands out free passes. The currents decided to strike, turning certain sections of the crossing into an absolute physical and psychological wall. In those moments of pure exhaustion, I was incredibly lucky to have my inseparable friend Bruno on the boat. He translated and filtered the noise, passing down only the vital information I needed to stay locked into my rhythm.
The Final Push to the Beach
The magic happened just as the California coastline started to materialize through the dark. That is when Dave Shenbaum joined our convoy. Dave is an expert local lifeguard and a retired Manhattan Beach Fire Captain—and today, I am proud to call him my friend.
His shouts from the water and one crucial piece of information changed my mindset completely. He told me that my wife, Olga, and my two sons, Jan and Guiu, were standing up on Sacred Cove, watching and waiting for me. That certainty was the exact fuel I was missing. I squeezed every last ounce of strength into those final meters until I touched the sand. Right there on the beach, I let out a raw, fierce roar of freedom—a cry I had never experienced before.
Looking Ahead: Destination Molokai
I now have my fourth challenge out of seven in the bag. This season reminded me that the ocean rules, that every crossing has its own personality, and that whatever seems to be going perfectly can flip in a matter of minutes. But it also engraved a much deeper lesson into my heart: everything that is going wrong can also change if you just keep pushing.
Now, it is time to turn the rudder. In May 2027, Molokai, Hawaii awaits.
© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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