Swimming Home from Anacapa
Swimming Home from Anacapa
Thursday, July 17, 6:30pm
Faulkner Gallery – Santa Barbara Public Library
40 East Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, CA
Caitlin Swalec is a lifelong open water swimmer who grew up swimming around the lakes of Maine. Since 2019 she has mainly swum along the shores of Santa Barbara, exploring the waters and kelp beds of our 'front yard' in this unique way. On October 3, 2023, she completed a 12+ mile crossing from Anacapa Island to Oxnard Harbor in a time of 7 hours and 12 minutes with the support of a wonderful crew of fellow female athletes. Throughout her swim, Caitlin was greeted by pods of dolphins and diving pelicans, 3 humpback whales, and a very friendly seal. Come learn about open water swimming and the unique swimming 'trails' around Santa Barbara.
Caitlin grew up in Hampden, Maine and has swum in dozens, if not hundreds, of lakes and ponds around Maine and New England. After finishing her degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, Caitlin moved to Santa Barbara to pursue her Masters of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UCSB and discovered the joy of open water swimming in the Pacific Ocean. She now works as the Program Director for Heavy Industry at an environmental non-profit called Global Energy Monitor (GEM) and frequently spends her days running trails or swimming along the shores of Santa Barbara and thinking about how to decarbonize heavy industry in an effort to preserve the places she loves most!
This free presentation is part of the Trail Talks series hosted by the Santa Barbara Public Library.
The next talk in the series is Thursday, August 21st, The Mystery and Magic of the Mojave with Joshua Jackson
