Marilyn`s story of the Catalina swim

The swim started out at Doctor's cove. I'm so glad I had been there in October and it was all familiar because it was pitch black. The water quickly dropped from 67 to 66 and 65 stayed there until the sun got fairly high in the sky. I was able to stay warm by swimming fast until I started throwing up my feeds and then everything in my stomach. For me that was the low point of the swim. I know that if you can't keep calories down you get hypothermic very quickly. Fortunately we narrowed it down to the Carbo Pro. After a feed of just water my stomach was very happy and we started experimenting with the back-up "food" I had brought. Curiously enough, it was Boost that worked the best. On the Boost I was able to pick up the pace and my spirits. The night was more that half over and I was going to make it to dawn.

When the sun came up at 6:30 my son (who was a hero paddling expertly all night) told me that I was more than halfway. I could see the Palos Verdes hills clearly. It was at that point that I knew I had a good chance of making it. I knew the sun would warm me up, which it did. After it got light, my pacers jumped in one at a time for an hour each. The water was the most beautiful blue I had ever seen. Mind you, it is 3,000 feet deep. There were lots of little fish and I saw a salp. I got lots of brief stings from loose stingers from Jellyfish. Never did see a whole one. No shark sightings either.

The end took about 4 hours. It was a nail biter, especially for those on board. The current and the wind worked together to push me west and I almost missed Point Vicente. The boat was pointed almost 90 degrees to the line I was supposed to swim. I had to sprint the last 3 hours and gulp my feeds in 10 seconds. Fortunately, the water temperature dropped to 65 degrees and numbed my aching shoulders and I was able to sprint. I pulled into the kelp just in the nick of time before I got swept around Point Vincente. Unfortunately I had to swim another half kilometer to get to some rocks that were smooth enough to land on in the surf. The chief observer, Forrest, swam in with me to keep me sprinting and to negotiate the kelp and rocks. Thank you! My other 2 boys and Frances, my trainer, hiked down a 1000 foot cliff to meet me at the finish. Final unofficial time was 14 hours 24 minutes. I am very happy with this time. I swam faster than my body wanted to go!

We saw dolphins playing in our boat`s wake and seals bobbing on our way back to the marina.

A special thank you to my family and pacers Deb, Thie and Kim. Thank you to Andrea for blogging. I'd like to especially thank Gary who joined the team yesterday to paddle for me after my other son got sick. Gary quit smoking to come on the swim! Thank you to Chris the assistant observer who was very helpful to me before the swim and to the crew during the swim. And last but not least, Captain David and the crew of the Outrider who were superbly organized, professional, friendly and only slept 3 hours before my swim and go out on another swim in 5 hours. 9 in a row!

Here`s the link for the video of the ending. http://youtu.be/aJx9KYVOpe0

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I made it!

This is Marilyn checking in. Looks like we had technical problems, sorry.
I made it in 14 hrs 24 min, unofficial time from the official.
So I have become the oldest Canadian and the fastest Canadian woman, although that one doesn't really count because Vicki Keith is the only other woman to do it and she swam it butterfly.
I'll post details in my next blog.

This is Andrea reporting that Marilyn jumped successfully tonight at 10:00:07pm. The water is a toasty 68 degrees Fahrenheit and fairly calm close to Catalina. There were large, four foot swells on the way to Catalina from Long Beach Pier according to one of her crew members, Gary. The boat's Captain said the water was 58 degrees a few kilometers from San Pedro the night before, and that the Catalina swimmer he guided last night was pulled. Swim, Marilyn, Swim!

Getting ready

We are all packed, the crew is all briefed and the vehicles organized.
The weather is predicted to be partly cloudy, winds minimal and waves 2-3 feet.
Air is 68 deg F overnight and 81 in the day.
Water temp will be 63 to 67 deg F.
I'm signing off now and handing over the blogging to my friend Andrea from San Francisco.

The day before the big swim

Today we drove out Palos Verdes Drive to Terranea resort, where it is anticipated I will touch land. I swam with all 3 of my pacers in the 63 degree water. We pretended we were sea otters and we had fun in the waves. We also practiced landing on the rocky beach. The technique is that you body surf in and grab a couple of big rocks and wait for the surf to wash away and then you get up and walk on all 4's the rest of the way.
We had to rush back to town because we had a lunch date with Marilyn Bell DiLascio's daughter, Jodi. For an extra special treat, she called her mother and I got to talk to her. "The older Marilyn" wished me luck. We had a great time with Jodi, reminiscing about her childhood and swimming. What an interesting woman.

Last day at our beachhouse

Another sunny day in southern California.
I sat on the beach and listened to the seagulls and felt the warm sand on my toes and the sun on my shoulders. And had a great view of Catalina on a clear day. It looks so close...
We met with the official observer today and talked about the swim. Evidently another Canadian, Steve Faulkner of Barrie, Ontario completed the Catalina crossing a month ago becoming the oldest Canadian, at 50. The pressure is on!

Another gorgeous day in Southern California

Deb and I went for a long swim in the ocean in the fog. We practiced with the Shark Shield attached to the kayak. My son says it worked after he got a little zap.
Tonight we are going to practice night swimming and kayaking.