The Fear and Fame of Wild Swimming the World's Seas

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Last year, open water swimmer Amy Appelhans Gubser became the first person to swim from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands, a craggy, mostly uninhabited archipelago off the Pacific coast that is known for its frigid, shark-infested waters. The 55-year-old fetal cardiology nurse coordinator from Pacifica, California, completed the 29.6-mile distance in 17 hours, three minutes. “It was so foggy that I only knew when it was daylight because the sky was a lighter gray,” she says.

A competitive swimmer in her younger years, Appelhans Gubser took a long hiatus from the pool to raise her family. When she returned to swimming recreationally at age 44, once her kids were in college and she was in a good place professionally as a nurse, it was the open waters like oceans, bays, and rivers that most resonated with her. “With open water swimming, or wild swimming as they call it in Europe, there’s no one judging you or telling you that you need to be faster,” she says. “I find it really liberating.”

This past October, the member of San Francisco’s historic South End Rowing Club (dating back to 1873) swam around Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of Ventura, California. Though only 10.6 miles in circumference, Appelhans Gubser says the surrounding currents are infamously strong. “Still, the water there is just so beautiful, it’s almost like swimming in an aquarium.” Over the next couple of years, she plans on attempting both the Straight of Juan de Fuca—a 12-mile swim from Port Angeles, Washington, to Victoria, British Columbia—and Scotland’s Loch Ness.

We chatted with Appelhans Gubser about her iconic swim, how she prepared for the water’s extreme cold, and its great white sharks (“Your Spidey sense is accurate, and you really do know when they’re there,” she says). Below, she also shares some of her favorite open waters around the globe.

How did your swim to the Farallon Islands come about?

Once I started swimming in the open water, I realized I was pretty strong. People would invite me to do some really crazy swims, and I started building up even more strength. After a year of swimming in San Francisco Bay, someone asked me to join them on the Gibraltar Swim in 2014 from Spain to Morocco, and I did very well. Then I swam across Lake Tahoe and Europe’s North Sea, and in 2015 completed a two-way relay with five other swimmers from the Farallon islands and back. From that moment on I was captivated with the islands. I would joke with my husband, saying “I can swim those,” while at the same time building up my cold water swimming resumé until I was ready.

How do you prepare for such a challenging swim?

You can't embark on this kind of journey without really being ready. I spent many hours acclimating myself to cold water and building up distance to prepare. My husband knows a lot about water dynamics—he was in the Coast Guard and worked as a harbormaster—so instead of watching “The Real Housewives” on a Friday evening, we’d study surface currents and look at tide charts to have a clear understanding of what I was getting myself into.

I’m also kind of obsessively cautious about sharks, so I definitely wanted to make sure that I chose a less “sharky” time to do this swim. This meant the water temperature would just have to be colder (it got down to 43 degrees Fahrenheit in the water, which is even colder than I was expecting). Thankfully, I have a nice healthy layer of bioprene—a layer of fat that keeps me warm in the water. For a swim like this you have to balance being very healthy and in shape with keeping the weight on to make sure you have enough insulation.

When it came to choosing a team to accompany me, I hand-picked a crew of swimmers with strong resumes who have dealt with adversity in the water. People who could pivot and be able to handle an emergency. I asked each one of my crew members, “How would you be if I got hurt or bit by a shark?” It was an actual possibility, and I made them really think about that before they answered.

You were literally swimming in shark-infested waters for over 17 hours. How did you keep your mind occupied?

Once in the water, I put the thought of sharks in the back of my head. For me to be able to accomplish the swim, I had to get into a zone. Some time passed when I wasn’t thinking about anything, then I found myself solving world problems and making up songs in my head. I was also very appreciative of my crew, who didn’t tell me when I swam past two half-eaten sea lions.

It wasn’t until I reached the ending buoy and the entire crew erupted in cheers that I got suddenly scared. I literally swam like a cartoon character to my accompanying fishing trawler and threw myself up that ladder like Santa Claus.

How did you get your food and nourishment?

The crew would throw me a rope-attached bottle that held my nutrition: a carbohydrate-based product broken down into liquid and mixed with bone broth. It was almost like chicken soup. I also had warm mashed potatoes that were in a plastic bag that I could rip open and slam down, and canned peaches, which helped cut the sting of salt water on my tongue.

You chose not to tell many people you were attempting this swim. Why the secrecy?

Having the press involved in a swim is just another level of stress. For example, I have seen several friends feel obliged to go out in bad weather because the press was there, and I wasn't about to put myself in a position of not being successful because I was making a choice for someone else. Until we really felt that this swim was going to solidly take shape, I wanted to keep it on the down-low.

What are some of your favorite places to do open water swims worldwide?

The Gibraltar Strait was fabulous—such blue waters and the food in both Spain and Morocco is off the hook. Ireland and Scotland, because the swim communities in those countries are just so welcoming and incredible. Lake Memphremagog, which spans the border between Vermont and Quebec. We had to actually bring along our passports and keep them in the accompanying kayak to make the swim.

Where do you travel when you don't swim?

Well, my husband and I are ocean people so it always involves water. Portugal works well for us because he has great surf, and I have great spots to swim casually.

What does swimming do for you?

Being in the open water reminds me that in life you’ve got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I think it's a really healthy reminder.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler