Swimmer Sets Record for Catalina Crossing

Frank E. Reynolds, 55, of Santa Ana swam from Santa Catalina Island to the Palos Verdes peninsula in 10 hours 34 minutes Friday to set a channel-crossing record for the 50-and-over age group.

Reynolds, a consultant civil engineer, began swimming from Diver’s Cove on the northern tip of Catalina at 1:15 a.m. Friday and, 22 miles later, climbed up the rocky cliff beneath Marineland at 11:49 a.m.

“I hurt all over, my throat is killing me from swallowing so much sea water, but I finally accomplished my goal,” said Reynolds, who tried the channel crossing for the first time last year but passed out 200 yards from the Palos Verdes shoreline. He was taken to the hospital, where he said he was unconscious for four hours and his body temperature was down to 86.

“Last year I hadn’t trained enough,” Reynolds said. “But this year, I’ve trained a lot--over 200 miles (of ocean swimming) since May.”

Reynolds, who was an All-American swimmer at Michigan State from 1952-53, was escorted by two paddle boarders as well as his coach and mentor, Penny Dean, record-holder for the English Channel double crossing.