While the rest of California swelters, Patti Bauernfeind continues to fight cold and the elements out in Monterey Bay after 12 hours. But she is approaching the shore in a cross-bay swim that has only been crossed once without a wetsuit by the legendary Cindy Cleveland.

A dense fog has engulfed the bay and Bauernfeind, but she is about 3 miles from her goal. The tidal flow is also blowing her off-course, away from her goal at Point Pinos (see here). Watch her progress as she fights Mother Nature over the last bit in Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco.

NOTE: Bauernfeind was finally pulled out of the water due to bad weather that was getting worse. Support crew member Michelle Macy explains, “The tracker did not exactly describe the whole story based on some other things like avoiding marine life and 15+ knot headwinds in addition to crazy fog that created nastiness on the water.“

Bauernfeind describes the final hours, “I survived Monterey Bay despite tough conditions the last 4.5 hours, but [my swim] ended with 3 miles to go which would have meant 3-4 hours in those conditions.”

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