Amy Dantzler (62, USA, MSF bio here, shown above) spent the day on the Catalina Channel, pushing herself to the limit.

But instead of replicating her 9 hour 42 minute 32.3 km crossing in 2021 as a 57-year-old marathon swimmer, she is racing in today’s 51 km Catalina Classic race as a paddleboarder. Dantzler is among the oldest women to finish the race in history when she finished in 6 hours 26 minutes during the 2024 Catalina Classic. As of mid-race, she was paddling in second place.

Paddleboarding Quartet

Dantzler is following in the wake of three other accomplished marathon swimming paddleboarders.

• Cindy Cleveland (71, USA, MSF bio here, IMSHOF inductee in the Class of 2018) completed three Catalina Classic paddleboard races in 1985, 1986 and 1987 placing in the top three in the stock division in addition to doing solo one-way and two-way swim crossings of the Catalina Channel. She also pioneered the first 50-mile circumnavigation swim around Catalina Island. In 1999, Cleveland was the first woman to receive the Tom Blake Award presented by the Hennessey Paddleboard Cup Committee to individuals who have made ‘extraordinary contributions to the sport and lifestyle of surfing’.

• Carol Sing (85, USA, MSF bio here, IMSHOF inductee in the Class of 2000, shown below on left) swam 32.2 km across the Catalina Channel at the age of 55 in 10 hours 38 minutes and paddled across at the age of 63 in 8 hours 58 minutes in 2005. Sing has served as a long-time volunteer member of the board of directors of the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation.

• Grace van der Byl (48, USA, MSF bio here, IMSHOF inductee in the Class of 2025, shown below on right) set the Catalina-to-mainland record in 7 hours 27 minutes in 2012 and completed the 2014 Catalina Classic in 6 hours 36 minutes, placing 73rd overall.

History of the Catalina Classic

Pete Peterson, Wally Burton, and Chauncy Granstrom paddled from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Catalina Island in September 30th 1932.

From 1955, the Manhattan Beach International Paddleboard Race – from the Isthmus Cove on Catalina Island to the south side of Manhattan Beach Pier – was held between 1955 to 1960.

In 1982, the race was restarted as the Catalina Classic 32-mile Paddleboard Marathon that has been held 49 times since (with the only interruption being the 2020 pandemic). With the restart, key enthusiastic and experienced channel swimmers from the Catalina Channel Swim Federation provided a plethora of guidance on logistics and safety. These members included Mickey Pittman (IMSHOF inductee in the Class of 2017 who served as the lead escort pilot), John York (IMSHOF inductee in the Class of 1989), Siga Gudmonson Albrecht, and Cindy Cleveland. Additionally, several of the Catalina Channel swimmers also became Catalina Classic paddlers like John Hill, David Yudovin (IMSHOF inductee in the Class of 1999) and Cathy Moore.  

Today’s 49th Annual Catalina Classic

A livestream is available here.

For more information, visit https://catalinaclassicpaddleboardrace.com.

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