Being 10 miles out to sea with waves crashing overhead and no land in sight is not a scene that most would look forward to. But that scene is what La Jollan Anne Cleveland lives for. “I love the ocean so much, it’s like going home for me,” she said. “I feel like I’m a mermaid out there, it’s my home.” On Aug. 1, Cleveland will take to the high seas again in an attempt to complete a rare and impressive feat. She is set to try to become the sixth person to swim from mainland California to Catalina Island and back. By completing the 42-mile course she would also become the fourth woman to conquer it. Cleveland has been itching to get in the water for as long as she can remember — and even before that. On her first birthday, her parents took her for a boat ride on the Colorado River and they had to do everything they could to keep her from jumping in. At 5 years old she started taking lessons and at 13 she began competing competitively. As a kid growing up in La Jolla, Cleveland would regularly go to the shores, swim out past the break and just hang out where she felt most comfortable. “I would relax beyond the waves and just enjoy the peace and serenity of the ocean,” she said. Cleveland attended La Jolla High School (LJHS) and swam with the boys because there was no girls team at the time. For her efforts she received an “A” in boys P.E. class. She did well at CIF against other girls and she might have even qualified for the Olympic trials, but the circumstances of the times intervened. “Sports weren’t much of a priority for girls back then unless you were really good,” she said. “It just wasn’t meant to be for me.” Cleveland left the competitive ranks of the sport for a couple of decades but eventually made her way back to the water. She started seriously training again at the age of 40 and has been consistently working on her stroke ever since. In 2004, Cleveland reached the pinnacle of her sport when she swam from England to France and back again, traversing the famed English Channel. That swim was extended considerably because of the currents and tides, but nothing could stop her. She is still one of only 20 people to swim the channel both ways — and the oldest (she was 48 at the time). Cleveland said the key to accomplishing such a grueling event is to have a positive and expansive frame of mind. “You have to learn how to quiet your mind, swim on autopilot and allow the thoughts to drift through your mind like clouds in the sky,” she said. “Stay very much in the present moment. It takes practice.” Aside from conquering athletic accomplishments around the world, the 54-year-old Cleveland is a local realtor in La Jolla and also contributes as an assistant coach on the LJHS swim team. She doesn’t have to say much to motivate her players. Instead she jumps in the pool and swims along with them. “The kids are my favorite training partners of all,” she said.
