BAY TO              

BALTIMORE

2025  

My 2nd Bay to Baltimore wasn’t the swim we planned but it was every bit as wonderful to swim through our beautiful harbor & celebrate our city. 💛

Open water swimming demands flexibility, & nature doesn’t always go according to plan— which is sometimes the reality of this sport. It was a smaller swim— but still the big message of support for Baltimore’s harbor & I am incredibly proud & grateful for it all.

A brief recap—
After delaying the swim 24 hours, we knew Tuesday, May 20th was really the only day we could go for it— higher winds were raging in the days before & a ton of rain was to follow the rest of the swim window.

Around 2am— after after I had been swimming for about an hour my crew signaled to me & shared the heartbreaking call to pull me. I was swimming strong— but the conditions were deteriorating & the high winds were making things increasingly dangerous. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for my captains/crew to make that call or how hard it must have been for my husband Joe to be the one to tell me— but it was absolutely the right call. Safety is always the most important— no swim is worth risking that.

A giant shout out & thank you to @freedomboatclubmaryland captains Todd & Allan for keeping us safe & handling those conditions so well— and to my crew for the many hugs & all of the love.

This swim was never just about the 24 miles — it’s always been about something bigger— championing Baltimore & our harbor.

So we pivoted to a shorter swim— @ 12:24pm I jumped in by Fort McHenry & swam the ~2.4 miles to the Inner Harbor Amphitheater where an amazing crowd of gathered. @urbanpirates supported & Professor Trash Wheel joined us — and I tell ya swimming with pirates & a googly eyed Trash Wheel- it doesn’t get more Baltimore than that.

I swam into the finish, high-fived Baltimoreans & we celebrated our city together. It was not the swim we planned— but absolutely a success!

Thank you so much to all of my 2025 sponsors & partners for the support — and to all of you for the love & cheers! More swims ahead in my 2025 season— and many more BaytoBmore swims in the years to come— I can’t wait to share it all with you. 💛

TUESDAY, MAY 20TH

Start: ~12:00-1AM TUESDAY@ Sandy Point State Park at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Finish: Harborplace Amphitheater in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor - estimated arrival to the finish between ~12:00 - 3:00PM TUESDAY

We invite you to follow the swim via the live tracker (the crew will also be posting updates via social media!), and JOIN US AT THE FINISH!! Professor Trash Wheel and many friends will be joining the fleet into the finish!

Check LIVE TRACKER & follow on socials for updates!

MEDIA CONTACT: Rida Dhanani, PROFILES [rida@profilespr.com / 703-309-9497]

Katie Pumphrey’s Bay to Baltimore swim made history in 2024! Tackling this swim for a 2nd time is not just a personal challenge—it’s about continuing to celebrate our city’s progress and supporting the movement toward a cleaner, more accessible waterfront for everyone.

Distance: 24 miles

Start: Sandy Point State Park at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Finish: Harborplace Amphitheater in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

Swim window: May 18-23, 2025

~12-1AM start time. Estimated 12-14 hour swim, based on Katie’s typical swim pace. Wind, tides, & conditions will impact this greatly.

This swim will again follow the rules of the Marathon Swimmers Federation (MSF). An observer will document and verify the swim’s adherence to MSF rules and regulations. Data collected from Katie’s 2024 and 2025 Bay to Baltimore swims will help support the goal of making the Bay to Baltimore swim an annual event for marathon swimmers. 

Katie’s 2024 MSF report here.

All swim details and updates will be posted on this page, including and a tracker link will be shared so you can follow along in real time!

We invite everyone to follow this swim, cheer Katie on, and join us at the finish line to celebrate!

Katie Pumphrey

”To be the first person to do this swim in 2024 was incredible. That swim made history and was truly the greatest experience of my life. To be able to continue to celebrate and highlight Baltimore through my sport is an honor and a dream come true.”

Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore

Katie Pumphrey’s 2025 Bay to Baltimore Swim is in collaboration with the non-profit organization Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore Inc, which has served as our city’s advocate, promoter, and steward for the waterfront since 2005.

Dedicated to enhancing and promoting the waterfront district, parks, and public spaces, Waterfront Partnership creates welcoming programs, events, and recreational experiences while working toward a healthy harbor. They are committed to fostering connections among diverse communities to ensure equitable access to our blue and green spaces.

Mr. Trash Wheel is part of Waterfront Partnership’s signature programs, a famous Baltimore icon, social media celebrity, local landmark, and part of the semiautonomous trash interceptor family in the Baltimore Harbor and surrounding waters!

Mr. Trash Wheel himself will join Katie for the last stretch of the swim and escort her into Baltimore’s Harborplace! We invite the public to join us all at the Finish Line to celebrate a healthier harbor and cheer Katie into the finish!

Water Quality

Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative works to restore and protect our City’s most valuable asset—the Baltimore Harbor. Our human affinity for nature, fostered by a direct emotional connection with the marine environment, will restore the balance between our city, the Patapsco river, and the Chesapeake Bay. Through Healthy Harbor projects, programs, and partnerships, they are educating the public about what lives beneath the surface and how we can all fight for the urban ecosystem through the actions we take. Clean water means cleaning and greening neighborhoods, and a healthy harbor equals a healthy city.

Weather and rainfall play a big role in determining the swim day for Katie Pumphrey’s Bay to Baltimore Swim. Like in any body of water, we should not swim in the 48 hours after a heavy rainfall, as runoff and overflow from heavy rains impact water quality. Baltimore’s harbor is testing at safe levels to swim on “dry days,” meaning outside of the 48 hours following heavy rainfall. This data has been studied closely by Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative.

The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore collects water samples from 5 sites in the Harbor 5 days a week. Samples are taken to ZooQuatic Lab to be analyzed according to the EPA's Recreational Water Quality Criteria.

“I hope this swim continues to inspire others to celebrate the progress of Baltimore’s harbor and embrace the possibilities for cleaner, more accessible waterfront for everyone.”

Katie Pumphrey

Katie Pumphrey, 37, is Baltimore-based interdisiplinary artist and ultramarathon open water swimmer.

In June 2024, she became the first person to complete the 24-mile "Bay to Baltimore" swim from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Katie’s other notable open water swims include two English Channel swims (2015, 2022), around the island of Manhattan (2017), and two Catalina Channel (2018, 2024). Those three swims make up the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, making Katie the 194th person (73rd woman) in the world to achieve that honor.

When not training or coaching other swimmers, Katie is a full-time visual artist. Her large scale paintings and sculptures are deeply connected to swimming, and her experiences in the water continue to drive and greatly influence her work. 

Katie lives in Baltimore City, Maryland with her husband Joe and their dog, Adja.

About Katie

Katie Pumphrey

“Not only is it my hope to do this swim many times in my lifetime, it is my goal to make the Bay to Baltimore Swim an annual event for other swimmers. I want to continue to put Baltimore on the map, not only for this sport, but as an amazing city to visit. Doing this swim for a 2nd time, and forming BOWS is an exciting step towards that goal. ”

There is GoFundMe set up to support Katie’s 2025 season. 10% of these proceeds will be donated towards creating a new Baltimore-based nonprofit organization, Baltimore Open Water Swimmers (BOWS), with the vision of fostering community and an exciting future for open water swimming in Baltimore.

Freedom Boat Club

To help ensure a safe and successful swim, Katie’s team will include 8-10 people, including a kayaker, and two support boats. The boats provided by Freedom Boat Club, will be piloted by alternating captains, Todd Nicusanti and Allan Rex from FBC.

“Freedom Boat Club is thrilled to have the opportunity to support Katie and her team, helping to raise awareness about all the great experiences on the water, in and around the City of Baltimore.” — Freedom Boat Club

2025 Sponsors & Partners

Thank you to all sponsors & partners, as well as individual donors! The journey of this swim, and all of the training and steps it takes to get there, wouldn’t be possible without your generous support!

Sponsorships & Partnerships directly contribute towards the costs of the Bay to Baltimore swim, including, but not limited to, logistical support, media and film coverage, digital assets, equipment, supplies, travel and lodging expenses, as well as costs associated with all swims in Katie’s 2025 season, in which she will continue to promote Baltimore as a new destination for open water swimmers. This sport is one that requires a lot of support, time in training, and a team to make it a success.

Contact Katie directly at pumphreykatie@gmail.com.

Contact Katie

Submit form or contact Katie directly at: pumphreykatie@gmail.com.