Courtesy of Evan Morrison, Anacapa Island, Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association, California.

The Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association recognized the early-season achievement of Amy Appelhans Gubser, a pediatric nurse from Pacifica, California who was a former Los Angeles County lifeguard and competitive swimmer at the University of Michigan.

She has enjoyed an eclectic open water swimming career from the American West Coast to Morocco.

In addition to crossing the Catalina Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar, she was a member of the Team Nadadores Locos, a 6-person relay that completed the first two-way crossing between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Farallon Islands in 34 hours 54 minutes. She also finished third overall in the 4-day, 4-stage S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge in Arizona in 20 hours 17 minutes, and she completed a mainland-to-island crossing in a California Channel Island.

Evan Morrison of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association reported that she became a California Triple Crowner with her 6 hour 2 minute 19.6 km channel crossing from Silverstrand Beach, Oxnard on the California mainland to Anacapa Island.

“Amy touched the cliffs under Anacapa Lighthouse after 6 hours 2 minutes 59 seconds, according to observer Dave Van Mouwerik. She is the fourth individual to complete this swim in the mainland-to-island direction. This swim also earns Amy her California Triple Crown of marathon swimming – she only the fourth person to swim Catalina, the length of Lake Tahoe, and the Santa Barbara Channel.”

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