What inspires you? Catherine Breed swimming the frigid waters of the Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz to Monterey. 12 hours and 42 minutes of bravado and grit. That's 25 statute miles, 21.7 nautical miles or 44,000 yards (Source swimmontereybay.org). A typical college-level swim workout could be 5,000-10,000 yards. Photo Credit Santa Cruz Waves.