Great Moments in West Marin History
THE FIRST TOMALES BAY TRANSBAY SWIM — SEPTEMBER 14, 1974
“Locals who like to swim in Tomales Bay sooner or later get the urge to swim across the bay, and back in 1974 that’s exactly what happened. Nancy Hemmingway and I probably thought this up while we were swimming together. We picked a day, a place and a time, put out the word and rounded up some boaters to support us and, fog notwithstanding, ten of us plunged in. In this view, we have made it to the east shore, with the Inverness Ridge behind us. The trip back home always seems longer as the insistent tide pulls us away from our destination. It’s a lovely meditation leading to a communal sense of accomplishment. Never a race, the annual TransBay Swim is a rite of passage and a communal celebration of the joy of Tomales Bay, our unique faultline waterway. These days there are more people, boats and wetsuits than in the first swim, but the ritual remains essentially the same. When most people are lingering over breakfast and the beaches are deserted, sun or fog, we are plunging in the water, crossing from one tectonic plate to another in joyous camaraderie.” — Elisabeth Whitney, Inverness 2013