Kathie Hewko, 79, swims at Active Wellness Center in Petaluma Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
Kathie Hewko, 79, swims at Active Wellness Center in Petaluma Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
Kathie Hewko, 79, swims at Active Wellness Center in Petaluma Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
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Kathie Hewko, 79, swims at Active Wellness Center in Petaluma Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
In San Francisco Bay, the “Escape from Alcatraz” route from the onetime prison island to the mainland is a well-known quest for triathletes and other open-water swimmers.
For one Petaluma swimmer, however, the bay offers a less-traveled challenge that she finds herself returning to time and time again.
Kathie Hewko has been swimming beneath the Golden Gate Bridge since 1976. This fall, at the age of 79, she completed her 95th swim below the iconic span.
“Some people would call me crazy, but I do it because I love it,” Hewko said. “It’s spiritual for me and very magical. There’s usually a harbor seal or a harbor porpoise next to me, and there are almost always pelicans flying above, so it’s kind of like a good luck symbol for me.”
Kathie Hewko of Petaluma completes her 95th Golden Gate Bridge swim in October 2025. (Courtesy of Kathie Hewko)
A Michigan native, Hewko moved to San Francisco in the spring of 1976 and began swimming at the Jewish Community Center on California Street. One of the lifeguards there let her know about a women’s-only swim beneath the Golden Gate scheduled for that fall.
“I said, ‘Are you crazy? The water’s freezing and there are sharks out there,’” Hewko recalled with a chuckle.
But she ended up joining the group and eventually agreed to take part in the bridge swim that September. She took other swimmers’ advice to load up beforehand on carbohydrates, which for her at that time was two chocolate-covered donuts. But that breakfast, along with the one- to two-foot swells, didn’t have her feeling too great at the halfway mark of the swim.
She put her hand up to summon one of the support boats and divulged that she didn’t feel well. The person on the boat replied, “Shut up and count your strokes!”
Hewko stuck it out and finished — with no idea it would be the first of nearly 100 such swims during her life.
For Hewko, it became more than a once-a-year challenge. At one point, when she was nearing her 50th swim, she completed the route nine times in one summer.
Her impressive run wasn’t without hurdles. In 1986, a bite from a tick left her seriously ill, forcing her to stop swimming for a couple of years. And as she’s gotten older, it’s become harder to build up the energy to train, Hewko said. In fact, October’s swim was her first in three years.
She was joined by a friend in the water and watched closely by a support boat during the journey.
“I honestly wasn’t sure if I would have been able to do it this year, but I really wanted to,” Hewko said. “I wanted to at least reach 95.”
Petaluma’s Kathie Hewko, left, and Barton Smith during their Golden Gate Bridge swim in October 2025. (Photo courtesy of Kathie Hewko)
Not every one of those 95 crossings has started at the same place. Eventually, Hewko and her fellow bridge swimmers learned the best way is to start at the San Francisco end and swim toward Marin County.
“They’ve done it both ways, but they’ve found the easiest way to deal with the tides is south to north,” Hewko said. “For years, we used to start at the beach behind Fort Point, but after 9/11 they wouldn’t allow us to do that. We now go out in boats and jump off into the water, going north.”
The Petaluma resident, who has also completed swims around the globe in places like Scotland and Mexico, now faces an obvious question about her Golden Gate crossings:
Stop at 95, or go for an even 100?
Hewko has an answer, but she also dipped her toe into the possibility of changing her mind.
My goal many, many years ago was 100, and my husband still thinks that to be the case,” Hewko said. “As of right now, I think I’m OK with 95.”