Catherine Breed is a California woman, through and through.

She grew up in Pleasanton in Northern California and has sailed all around the San Francisco Bay area growing up. She later starred on the University of California Berkeley swim team and represented the USA National Swim Team. She joined the Dolphin Club in Aquatic Park soon thereafter and has set all kinds of records and won events since. She currently lives in Mill Valley just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Combining her love of swimming in the open water with her desire to lead and motivate more women to get involved in ocean activities is her current passion.

Last Friday at the Dolphin Club, she launched Swim California, an audacious, unprecedented 1,448 km solo stage swim along the entire coast of the state of California from Oregon to the US-Mexican border. She estimates the adventure will take her 3-4 months of swimming beginning in June 2026.

As she does the (frankly until contemporary times) unthinkable, she will be promoting awareness for the Sea Dreamers, a community of ocean enthusiasts, adventurers, and dreamers that she founded to motivate more women to do ocean-based activities and sports while building greater communities and fostering a network of empowered individuals. She describes the event, “For the past few years, I’ve been quietly dreaming about Swim California. Then, in 2022, I swam from the Golden Gate Bridge to Half Moon Bay. I didn’t do it for a record — I just swam for the love of the ocean, calling it my soul swim.

After that, something clicked. That inner voice, the one that had been whispering about Swim California, finally became too loud to ignore. 

Swim California stands for something bigger: community, education, and access to the ocean. I want to inspire more ocean stewards and raise awareness for ocean conservation through stories and sport.”

And so, her dream is gradually becoming a reality. First in logistical planning and physiological preparation. But as she says, “I’ve spent my whole life in the ocean. I have been training for this swim all my life.”

From Pelican State Beach situated immediately south of the northern California – Oregon border to Imperial Beach in San Diego County that sits along the California – Mexican border 1,448 kilometers away, Breed will work her way down day by day along the coast. 

History of California Coastal Swimming

Years ago, two separate teams have swum lengthy portions of the California coast:

• Ventura Deep Six including Tom Ball, Kurtis Baron, John Chung, Jim McConica, Jim Neitz and Mike Shaffer set the longest non-stop ocean relay record when they swam 325 kilometers from Ventura in central California to San Diego along the California coast in September 2010. Their non-stop effort took 4 days 5 hours 39 minutes.
• Nighttrain228 including Phil Cutti, David Holscher, Zach Jirkovsky, Luane Rowe, Blair Cannon, and Grace van der Byl  re-set the record with a 367 km relay from Gaviota State Park to San Diego in August 2013. Escorted by Captain Vito Bialla, navigator Hal McCormick and observer Patrick Horn, their non-stop effort took 4 days 4 hours 28 minutes.

Sea Dreamers

For more information on the Sea Dreamers, visit seadreamers.org. To donate, visit here. As Breed explains, “This is a hugely complex swim in and out of the water. I’m looking for support — whether it’s expertise, lodging, logistics, funding, or just being part of the story. However, you want to join this journey, I welcome it with open arms. On my website, you can subscribe to the newsletter and follow along as I prepare over the next year.”

For more information on Breed, visit @beyondtheblackline_ and her website catherinebreed.com. For more information on Swim California, visit here.

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.