Catherine Breed Just Became the First Person to Swim California's Entire 900-Mile Coastline

Catherine Breed just completed something no one else has ever done: swimming roughly 900 miles along California’s entire coastline. She started July 1 at the Oregon border after three years of planning and finished October 19, landing at a pier just past the Mexico border more than three miles offshore. That’s 111 days of open water, and she’s the first person known to have even attempted the route.

The ocean threw everything at her. Her journey included eight shark encounters, seven-foot waves and opposing currents that pushed back against her progress. Tropical storms from the Super El Niño sometimes stalled her for days. Through it all, her approach stayed grounded: she says you cannot bring hubris or expectations into the ocean, whether you’re surfing, spearfishing, sailing or swimming. She also gave marine conservation lectures along the route.

Breed already had the English Channel and the Golden Gate Bridge to Half Moon Bay crossing on her resume. She called finishing the coast a little bit of an out-of-body experience, and her stated goal was to inspire others, especially women and girls, to attempt the unlikely. What’s the most unlikely goal you’ve ever gone after?