S.F.’s Kim Chambers is first woman to swim from Farallones to the Golden Gate.
The English Channel gets all the attention as the most famous open-water swim, and over 3,000 people have crossed its bitterly cold waters.
But in the world of extreme marathon swimming, the 30 miles of shark-infested waters between the Farallon Islands and San Francisco is the most difficult stretch to cross. Until Saturday, only four people, all of them men, had accomplished the swim.
Kim Chambers made history Saturday as the first woman to swim from the Farallones to San Francisco, reaching the Golden Gate Bridge in 17 hours and 12 minutes.
“This is the hardest openwater swim in the world,” said Vito Baillo, Chambers’ coach who rode in the boat following her. “I think she’s the top openwater swimmer in the world right now.”
The 38-year-old San Francisco resident took a boat to the Farallones last night and dove into the Pacific Ocean at 11:30 p.m., wearing only a swimsuit. She swam through the night and into the morning, while most of the city was sleeping. In the afternoon, the wind picked up, and Chambers was exhausted and on the verge of giving up, especially because she was struggling to keep down the food her crew was throwing to her from the boat.
“I knew if I touched the boat the swim would be over,” Chambers said. “I had to dig really deep to keep going. But when I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, I knew I couldn’t give up.”
Chambers swam under the bridge, where the boat picked her up and carried her to the San Francisco Yacht Club in Tiburon. Friends gathered in support, cheering and crying as she lifted her exhausted, shaking body from the boat
“I’m shocked,” Chambers said, standing on the dock. “It’s going to take me a long time to process this. That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
Chambers is an inspiration to many. She has become a top open-water swimmer in only six years, and just eight years ago she was in a situation where doctors told her she’d never walk again. After falling down stairs in 2007, she suffered a leg injury that nearly resulted in an amputation. The former classical ballerina took up swimming to stay fit and rehabilitate — and got very serious, very fast.
In only a couple years, she became the sixth person (and third woman) to complete the Ocean’s Seven, a collection of marathon swimming challenges, including the Strait of Gibraltar, the Molokai Channel, and the North Channel, where she endured hundreds of jellyfish stings during a 13-hour successful crossing.
But Chambers says the Farallones is the toughest swim. “The weather is less predictable, and there are great white sharks.”
The cluster of islands and sea stacks off the San Francisco coast is notorious for its shark population. The Farallones’ elephant seal population attracts hungry great whites that are among the largest in the world, with some measuring as long as 19 feet.
Chambers’ mom flew all the way from New Zealand to ride in the boat following her daughter, along with about 16 other crew members who watched for dangers and made sure Chambers followed traditional “English Channel rules.”
“No wetsuit,” Chambers said. “You can’t touch the boat at any time. ... There’s an observer on board to make sure you’re not getting a free ride.”