Swimmer Melissa Blaustein makes her way to the Race Rocks area west of Victoria, B.C. around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Blaustein completed her trek across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at 3:43 p.m. (Northwest Open Water Swimming Association)

Swimmer Melissa Blaustein makes her way to the Race Rocks area west of Victoria, B.C. around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Blaustein completed her trek across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at 3:43 p.m. (Northwest Open Water Swimming Association)

Swimmer makes it across Strait in less than eight hours

PORT ANGELES — Orcas made an appearance at the finish.

Seven hours and 41 minutes after embarking on her approximately 12-mile swim across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Melissa Blaustein arrived at a rock face on Cape Calver to the sound of boaters yelling, “Get out!”

Several whale boats apparently spotted a pod of orcas around the corner, said Andrew Malinak, Blaustein’s support boat pilot.

“I was happy to get out when I did,” Blaustein said, laughing.

Blaustein, who lives in San Francisco, and her crew aimed to finish at Beechey Head, Malinak said, but the tides pulled Blaustein toward Race Rocks. Rather than attempting to arrive at Beechey Head, they headed in the direction of nearest land: Church Point of Cape Calver on Vancouver Island.

When she finished, Blaustein felt “very cold and emotional,” Malinak said.

“She looked good to the end,” he added.

Blaustein confirmed, as she said in a previous interview, that PB&J, Michael Phelps, “Hamilton” and “Little Mermaid” pulled her through — with the addition of “Moana.”

She also said a humpback whale swam in front of her about three-fourths of the way through the swim.

“It was really magical,” she said.

Blaustein, 29, started swimming in her late 20s, she said.

She does not recall the memory of her first swim — a triathlon with a distance swim portion — fondly in any way.

“I kind of hated it,” she said. “I didn’t know how to swim.”

But with a little training, she grew to appreciate the sport and realized, “Maybe this is something I was supposed to be doing my whole life,” she said.

Blaustein recently began “Chasing Amy,” setting out to complete as many of Amy Hiland’s swims as possible as a tribute to the late marathon swimmer.

On Aug. 18, 1956, Hiland swam across the Strait (a distance of about 18 miles) in 10 hours and 51 minutes.

In addition to raising awareness to Hiland’s legacy, Blaustein has been raising money for the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, an organization that has been active in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, via a GoFundMe page, Chasing Amy for Houston. The page had raised $1,010 as of Saturday evening.

________

Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsuladailynews.com.

A support boat carrying swimmer Melissa Blaustein of San Francisco approaches the rocky shore at Observatory Point along Freshwater Bay west of Port Angeles prior to her attempt to swim across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

A support boat carrying swimmer Melissa Blaustein of San Francisco approaches the rocky shore at Observatory Point along Freshwater Bay west of Port Angeles prior to her attempt to swim across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

More in News

Voters approving all Peninsula school measures

Sequim bond passing with required supermajority

Matthew Nash / Olympic Peninsula News Group
Rick Godfrey stands with his Boy Scouts of America achievements on his office’s wall, including his merit badges and Troop 490 photos. In 1950, he was the youngest scout in the state to earn his Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting. The troop celebrated 100 years at a special dinner on Saturday at the Sequim Masonic Lodge.
Sequim troop celebrates centennial with dinner

Scout organization began in 1925 in a Sunday school class

Jefferson County board takes on transportation benefit district

Tax, license fee expected to bring in $1 million

Clallam County commissioners discuss reservoir design

Consensus reached on two-cell option

Firefighters respond to a house fire at West Sixth Street and Cherry Street on Friday in Port Angeles. (Port Angeles Fire Department)
Home destroyed in Port Angeles house fire

Residents escaped a house fire at West Sixth Street… Continue reading

Five workshops to repair broken items set this spring

JeffCo Repair will sponsor five workshops where fixers will… Continue reading

Kathy Cruz/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Mary Montgomery-Crumley dishes up helpings of salad at “Soup’s On.” Lunch also included a biscuit, two versions of minestrone soup, one vegetarian, one with chicken, and chocolate chip butterscotch bars.
‘Soup’s On’ free lunch at St. Luke’s draws varied crowd of helpers, diners

Melissa, a member of Sequim’s Friends Together, a group that… Continue reading

At a recent site visit, North Olympic Library System Facilities Manager Brian Phillips and SHKS Architect Pia Westen examine construction progress at the Sequim Library as it’s being renovated and expanded. NOLS leaders anticipate reopening the facility in June. (North Olympic Library System)
Sequim library may open in June

Fall campaign brings in more than $500K in donations

Mike Speer of Bonney Lake, the brother of Sherry Nagel, a former board member of the YMCA of the Olympic Peninsula, cuts a ceremonial ribbon on Jan. 28 courtesy of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce to commemorate a new bus that Nagel’s estate helped fund. The bus is dedicated in Nagel’s honor. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
YMCA honors late board member with new bus

Sherry Nagel’s estate, Forest Foundation provide funds

Immigration fears hit Olympic Peninsula

Law enforcement agencies won’t deport individuals

Local immigrants worry about federal orders

As President Donald Trump steps into office and reports… Continue reading

Jefferson commissioners to discuss sheriff appointment

Three candidates named by Jefferson County Democrats