Bay Area woman speaks about historic swim to Farallon Islands
A California woman recently made history by completing the punishing swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallones, a treacherous journey through the freezing cold, shark-infested waters - all without a wet-suit.
Amy Gubser visualized herself swimming from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farralon Islands long before she jumped in the San Francisco Bay earlier this month.
"My husband and I joked all the time when we're on a hike walking our dogs and we see the Farrlon Islands, I just look at him and I say, 'You know I can swim there,'" Gubser told CBS News Bay Area's Vern Glenn.
The 55-year-old Pacifica resident turned that into a reality on May 11th when she became the first person to successfully complete the 29.7 mile swim. Gubser spent five years training for her historic swim.
"I know it's an incredibly difficult swim, but what's been more incredible is just the outreach and the inspiration that it's achieved," said Gubser.
Despite all of the training, Gubser admitted that the cold water temperatures were still a shock to her system. But she had to block it out during her 17 hours in the water.
"A stupid thought in your head could derail you from achieving your dreams, so I just entertained really silly thoughts to keep myself going," said Gubser.
She thought about the t-shirts that were printed up to celebrate a successful swim and how those would have been a waste if she didn't make it to the finish line.
Gubser credited her team with helping her complete the swim, which included passing down food in a bottle every 30 minutes from a nearby boat. What was her favorite thing on the liquid menu that day?
"I loved peaches. Peaches with the syrup because that actually counteracted the salt effect of the water," said Gubser. While peaches may have been a tasty treat in the water, she joked that she will now be taking a break from them for the foreseeable future.
So what's next for Gubser? She's already got her sights set on a new challenge.
"I'm looking forward to Loch Ness. I'm interested in finding the Loch Ness Monster. First sharks, now Nessie," she joked.