Making Waves
It’s not often that open-water swimming (OWS) is in the news, but in September 2025 it was. That’s when British endurance swimmer Ross Edgley became the first person to swim around Iceland. The 1,000-mile trip, in waters close to freezing, took him nearly four months to complete. This was an “assisted swim,” which means he wore a wet suit and was “only” in the water 6 to 12 hours a day. He boarded a support vessel during his “downtime” to rest, eat and recover.
Along the way he encountered intense waves and storms, sea creatures, chafing and “salt tongue,” a condition where parts of the tongue fall off due to exposure to salt water. The uniqueness of this swim afforded Ross the chance to work with a team of scientists to photograph marine life and pick up samples of environmental DNA and microplastics for study.
Upon completion of the swim, Ross referred to the expedition as a life-changing experience and the hardest yet most rewarding thing he’s ever done. “When I finally saw land and knew I’d swum around Iceland, the exhaustion just fell away—it was pure exhilaration, like touching the edge of the impossible.”
While circumnavigating Iceland is an extreme example of OWS, the sport is hugely popular in the Seattle area, even in the winter. In fact, Redmond is home to Melissa Kegler, one of OWS’s brightest stars.
A compliance manager in the tech world by day, Melissa is well known in the OWS world for her big cold-water swims and an absolutely stellar positive mental attitude. Her enthusiasm makes OWS sound enticing even to the most skeptical among us.
While Melissa grew up swimming recreationally in the Great Lakes and was on the swim team during college, her first exposure to OWS came when she was in her mid-20s. In 2012 she and her family competed in a Disney relay triathlon where her leg was a quarter-mile swim in warm Florida waters. She loved it.
Very quickly that quarter-mile swim turned into a half mile, and from there it was only a matter of time before she began contemplating a longer swim along a route popular among open-water swimmers. “I was living in Virginia. I’d never been to the West Coast, and I’d never been to California,” she explains. “And I just thought: Alcatraz.”
And so it was that her first long OWS took place in the San Francisco Bay, swimming the 1.2 miles from Alcatraz to the San Francisco Aquatic Park. It took her 34 minutes and 52 seconds. And it changed the course of her life.
In the last decade or so of her swimming career, Melissa’s achievements have been epic. She is the first native Michigander and first female Washingtonian to complete open-water’s Triple Crown—the English Channel (41.92 miles), Catalina Channel (20.2 miles) and Manhattan’s 20 Bridges (28.5 miles).
In 2021, she completed the first-ever Amy Hiland Double (20.8 miles), which goes from Bremerton to Alki and back to Bremerton in the difficult-to-navigate waters of Puget Sound. And on an impressively chilly note, she broke the International Ice Swimming Association’s Ice Mile distance record with a 1.4-mile swim at 39.2°F in 51 minutes and 26 seconds in 2020.
She’s very involved in the local open swim community as an active member of NOWSA (the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association), a local nonprofit that supports the sport by sanctioning swims and providing safety and training resources.
Every Saturday, year-round, Melissa and a group of other rock stars who call themselves the Notorious Alki Swimmers convene on Alki Beach in West Seattle to train and promote community. It’s at these morning meetups that she suggests newbies swing by to get a sense of OWS.
“A lot of people don’t think they’re swimmers, so I really try to reduce fear by suggesting tiny steps,” she explains. “I tell people to come to the beach just to check out the scene—you don’t have to get in the water and swim at first.”
Once they do dip their toes in, she gently suggests they lift their feet and float around. “Even if it’s three meters, I’ll say, ‘There you go! You’re an open-water swimmer!’ If you don’t like it, at least you tried.”
Melissa coaches marathon swimmers and has developed a free plan that is structured to help new swimmers gain more confidence and experience. It starts with quarter-mile lessons, which include kayaker support and, eventually, an approachable goal such as the 1.2-mile swim from the Alki Bathhouse to the Alki Lighthouse.
Promoting body inclusivity is another one of her passions, which makes absolute sense for someone who is in a bathing suit for most of her life. “I’ve chosen to gain weight in a healthy way for extra insulation intentionally because I’m not a super-fast swimmer and won’t be able to generate as much heat as other swimmers,” she explains. “And it works, but then there’s the mental issue of gaining 30 pounds and dealing with the first day my jeans don’t fit.”
Melissa consciously chooses to prioritize accomplishing her goals over worrying about her jean size and urges others to reframe what a powerful athletic body can do.
“I was a big kid growing up, and I was told to lose weight because I was too big for my age. But then I think, What if somebody told me I could swim like this? What if somebody told me that weight [when healthy] was a benefit? Negative self-talk is so pervasive and powerful. Kids and adults—especially women—need to hear that they can do this.”
Today, she’s training for two things: to regain the US ice-swimmming distance record, which will hopefully happen this November, and to achieve the female world ice-swim distance record, which is currently on track for July 2026. “It’s a lofty goal that definitely scares me a little,” she admits, “but I figure why not try. I’d rather find I’m not good enough and fail than not try.”
How to Get Involved in Open Water Swimming
Founded in 2011 by Guila Muir, Say Yes to Life Swims is a swim excursion company that teaches and guides people in the open water with a focus on joy and accessibility. It offers lessons from April to November in Lake Washington and facilitates noncompetitive events from a half mile to 10K for all ability levels.
We sat down with Guila for more information on how to approach OWS as a beginner.
Why do you love OWS?
Freedom, immersion in nature, challenge and adventure. Many women, especially between 40 and 60 years of age, find the open water to be one of the most liberating and joyful activities they have experienced.
What are the biggest challenges newbies face?
Many people fear things that could be “lurking below.” Some don’t like lake weeds (milfoil) to touch their legs or don’t feel comfortable in dark water. Some are anxious about water itself and do not trust it to be their friend. My work with beginning swimmers is very different from that with those who have experience. Relaxation and trust are key. These can take time to build.
What are the requirements to take your classes?
Beginners must be able to float comfortably on their front and back to start lessons with me. From there, it is fairly easy to build good technique. However, many people already possess swim skills at some level, so I work with them to fix technique problems that are making them less efficient.
What are the OWS safety precautions?
Always use a swim buoy and wear a bright cap. Swim with others in water you know is safe. Swim against the current or wind so that you won’t be fighting against it on your return. Beginners should start with very short times in the water (5–10 minutes). Keep in mind that you will feel colder 20 minutes after you get out than you were in the water because your cooled-down blood is now circulating throughout your body.