For raise maney for children’s hospital, teen swim team takes to the sea

Here about teen swim team to the sea to raise money for children’s hospital.

RANCHO PALOS VERDES In the end, there was shivering and jubilation.

Slashing through calm seas, with just a whisper of wind and mellow swells of 2 to 4 feet, six members of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Swim Club completed a 26-mile relay swim across the Catalina Channel this morning to raise money for sick children.

The teenagers, all accomplished swimmers but only half of them with much open-water experience, finished the journey from a cove near the northern tip of Santa Catalina Island to Rancho Palos Verdes at 7:41 a.m. tired and chilly, maybe, their bodies rubbed smooth by petroleum jelly for insulation, but thrilled by the experience and their accomplishment.

Six members of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Swim Club and their supporters packed onto the 63-foot Bottom Scratcher, a chartered fishing boat, at 8 p.m. to head to Doctor's Cove on Santa Catalina Island. Just before midnight, they started their 26-mile relay swim to Rancho Palos Verdes in a fundraiser for CHOC Mission Viejo.

"Psychologically, this will be tough for them," coach Ad'm Dusenbery said before they got in the water. "They will be dealing with the darkness and the cold, and the ocean swell --- they've never done anything like this before."

One swimmer was in the water at a time alongside a kayaker, slashing through the water at a pace of 20 minutes per mile. Every hour a swimmer was replaced in a relay that will be monitored by two observers with the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation.

Strict rules must be observed. While competing, a swimmer cannot wear a wet suit in the water. They only could wear a swimsuit and a cap and earplugs and goggles.

Dusenbury said he hoped the crossing would be completed in nine hours - they did it in eight. The swimmers raised about $5,000 for CHOC but are continuing to collect donations. The fastest crossing occurred in the 1960s in just under 8 hours.

"It was a really rewarding experience," said swimmer Derek Young, 15. "We worked hard to get to this point and now that it's done, it feels great."

The water temperature was in the low 60s at the start and through most of the swim but dipped to about 56.

Swimmers and observers aboard the Bottom Scratcher hooted and cheered as they watched No. 2 swimmer Tyla Willment, 17, scramble onto the rocks near the San Vicente Lighthouse touching down 7 hours and 51 minutes after No. 1 swimmer Joey Ferreri, 16, started the swim off Doctor's Cove.

Tyla had to swim through about 150 yards of thick kelp and choppy water to get to the shore. A pod of dolphins joined her for a bit near the finish.

"The first 10 minutes in the water were a shock," she said. "I felt like I could barely breathe. But then I got used to it.

"We couldn't have asked for a better day. The conditions were great."

The swim was the idea of relay member Sasha Westberg, 15, who was inspired by a trip to Catalina and also by several of the swimmers' ties to CHOC Mission Viejo. The wants to make the swim an annual benefit for the hospital.

"It was awesome," said Mallory Mosk, at 19 the oldest of the six-member team. "I whacked my hand hard on the kayak paddle, but I'm OK. It was fun."