Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Catherine Breed is attempting to become the first person to swim the entire 900-mile California coastline, a journey she began in July and reached the halfway point of 450 miles on Tuesday in Monterey Bay.
Breed is using her stops along the way to highlight the efforts of people and organizations working to protect the coast.
"The goals and the visions that Catherine has about clean water, coastal access, diversity, inviting the coast is for everyone. These are the same goals and missions that the California Coastal has, because it's our responsibility to provide coastal access for everybody in California," said Linda Locklin with the California Coastal Commission.
For Breed, the journey is deeply personal. Having grown up swimming and fishing along the California coast, she hopes to inspire others to connect with the ocean.
"To inspire more people to go after hard things, to get more women and girls into the ocean, and to challenge themselves. And really, in the process of learning about something and feeling inspired to try it and educated, you're going to want to fight to protect it," Breed said.
She is now swimming south toward her next major challenge: the Big Sur coastline.
"I feel physically ready for it. The crew has 55 days of experience now doing this. The only thing we don't have control over is the weather, and that's just going to require us to be patient and move safely, but also efficiently through that stretch," Breed said.
During her stop in Pacific Grove, members of the community were inspired by her.
"This is inspiring for doing longer swims. I do swims three, four, six miles is the longest I've done, not 900," said Dan Tuchler, who commuted down for the Pacific Grove event.
When she finally reaches Mexico, Breed hopes to reflect on more than just the miles she swam.
"The people, like the people we've met along the way, have made this so fun," Breed said.
Catherine Breed is attempting to become the first person to swim the entire 900-mile California coastline, a journey she began in July and reached the halfway point of 450 miles on Tuesday in Monterey Bay.
Breed is using her stops along the way to highlight the efforts of people and organizations working to protect the coast.
"The goals and the visions that Catherine has about clean water, coastal access, diversity, inviting the coast is for everyone. These are the same goals and missions that the California Coastal has, because it's our responsibility to provide coastal access for everybody in California," said Linda Locklin with the California Coastal Commission.
For Breed, the journey is deeply personal. Having grown up swimming and fishing along the California coast, she hopes to inspire others to connect with the ocean.
"To inspire more people to go after hard things, to get more women and girls into the ocean, and to challenge themselves. And really, in the process of learning about something and feeling inspired to try it and educated, you're going to want to fight to protect it," Breed said.
She is now swimming south toward her next major challenge: the Big Sur coastline.
"I feel physically ready for it. The crew has 55 days of experience now doing this. The only thing we don't have control over is the weather, and that's just going to require us to be patient and move safely, but also efficiently through that stretch," Breed said.
During her stop in Pacific Grove, members of the community were inspired by her.
"This is inspiring for doing longer swims. I do swims three, four, six miles is the longest I've done, not 900," said Dan Tuchler, who commuted down for the Pacific Grove event.
When she finally reaches Mexico, Breed hopes to reflect on more than just the miles she swam.
"The people, like the people we've met along the way, have made this so fun," Breed said.
