SOUTHLAND : Canadian Abandons Catalina Swim : Fatigued Canadian Woman Quits Catalina Swim After 19 Hours

A 28-year-old Canadian woman, suffering fatigue and hallucinations, had to abandon her efforts to swim from Santa Catalina Island to the mainland for charity early today.

Vicki Keith, abandoned her quest after 19 hours in the chilly ocean waters. She had covered about 21 miles of the nearly 24-mile crossing but had to give up when strong currents kept her from her goal.

“My body just wasn’t ready for it,” she told her mother by phone after abandoning the swim.

Keith said the hallucinations occurred when she blinked and thought she saw a huge tanker in her path as she swam. When she blinked again, the ship was gone.

She attributed the hallucinations to lack of sleep.

Keith, a powerful athlete from Toronto, planned to use only the butterfly stroke as she crossed the San Pedro Channel in a fund-raising event for a local children’s charity. She began her swim in Santa Catalina’s Emerald Bay about 8 a.m. Friday and had hoped to reach Cabrillo Beach, about 26 miles south of Los Angeles, early today.