HISTORY OF THE CATALINA CHANNEL

In 2007, the long standing club known as the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation evolved into a non-profit 501(c)(3).

The CCSF began providing CPR and safety training for the organization’s Observers and any crew interested in supporting channel swimmers. By 2008, the CCSF was in a position to staff swims with a minimum of two Observers, created training manuals, and established training criteria. In 2009, Observer training was expanded to multiple locations, Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) were provided to the two primary escort vessels, and starting in 2010 the Dottie York Scholarship Fund began granting scholarships to qualifying swimmers.

The CCSF continues to strive to improve safety in open water swimming.

Among her numerous books on open water swimming, Doctor Penny Lee Dean wrote the definitive history of Catalina Channel swimming. The original book details the 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim, as well as the pioneer swimmers of the 1950s including Florence Chadwick, Tom Park, and Greta Andersen. Subsequent chapters delve into the record-setting crossings of the late 70s. Penny interviews the swimmers of each era and researches the original observational logs in an attempt to capture the essence of every crossing.

She recently committed to writing the CCSF history for the next several years. We are thrilled that she’s finished the 2013 season and thank Penny for her deep support of Catalina Channel swimming.

Courtesy of Dr. Penny Lee Dean:

A History of the Catalina Channel Since 1927 to 2012 Entire book is 174 pages (1 Mb)

Individual chapters from her book are linked below

Account of the 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim 13 pages

Pioneers of the Catalina Channel from 1927 to 1963 13 pages

Decade of the 1970s 13 pages

Decade of the 1980s 18 pages

Decade of the 1990s 25 pages

Swims from 2000 thru 2004 13 pages

Swims from 2005 thru 2007 17 pages

2008 Season of Solo and Relay Swimmers 15 pages

2009 Season 13 pages