The Great Read: She’s Set to Swim the Entire California Coast (Sharks Permitting)
Swimming 900 miles won’t be “the worst way to spend four months,” Catherine Breed says — as long as the great whites, jellyfish and elephant seals leave her alone.
The New York Times
The Great Read
June 9, 2026, 2:01 p.m. Eastern time

On weekdays and Sundays, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

A woman in a white bathing cap and a black wet suit swimming near the Golden Gate Bridge.

She’s Set to Swim the Entire California Coast (Sharks Permitting)

Swimming 900 miles won’t be “the worst way to spend four months,” Catherine Breed says — as long as the great whites, jellyfish and elephant seals leave her alone.

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