Cross-Columbia swimmer delights in achievement

Published 6:56 am Sunday, August 3, 2025

Marsha Pack was a regular lap swimmer at the Astoria Aquatic Center when she joined its Masters Swim Group. 

She remembers meeting Dr. Paul Silka, coach of the group, an emergency physician at Columbia Memorial Hospital in December.

“Literally the first day I showed up, Paul asked if I was going to swim across the Columbia River,” said Pack. “I told him, ‘No! Hell, no! That will never happen.’”

But it did.

Pack was one of eight swimmers ranging in ages from 18 to 64 who took part in the 2025 Regatta Swim Across the Columbia Supporting the BuildCMH Expansion Project. Six were successful.

The swim began on the Washington side at Knappton Cove and ended in front of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria.

The event had begin in 1934 and gone on hiatus until 2024 when it was revived by Silka and others.  In the 1930s, it was named the Trans-Columbia River Swim, and 16-year-old Laura Couch was the first female to swim the river during the event, finishing in 3 hours and 55 minutes.

Arc route

Pack estimated the swim would take her 3.5 hours; she finished in 3 hours 17 minutes.

Her partner, Steve Gray, assisted from a kayak. While he carried necessary water and snacks for Pack, his most crucial role was providing navigation guidance.

“We headed toward Tongue Point to flow upriver with the incoming tide and then slowly turned towards landmarks that were closer and closer to the Maritime Museum,” recalled Pack. “This lets us flow downriver with the current rather than fight a cross current. The route looks like a big arc and that’s why — as the crow flies —the distance is 5.1 miles, but the swim is closer to 6 miles or more.”

Open water can be disorienting, so Pack and Gray devised a system of communication that could be easily seen. “When I turned my head to take a breath, he held up one finger for 15 minutes, two for 30 minutes and three for 45 minutes. That way, I could gauge how much time had passed,” said Pack.

Wildlife

The morning of the race, Pack wasn’t nervous. “My favorite part was the beginning at Knappton Cove. We saw sturgeons leaping out of the water, a magical ancient part of the river. It felt very different and there was excitement in the air, even though it was very early in the morning,” she said. 

A flotilla of family and friends launched at Knappton Cove to support Pack’s swim from the water; others applauded from the shore. 

“Seeing them cheering me on really motivated me,” she said.

Pack found parts of the river that were so shallow she could stand up and remembers the shipping lane as deep, choppy and noisy. A curious seal popped up to check her out. 

As she neared the Maritime Museum, a flock of honking geese flew by overhead. “I felt elated when I heard them. They sounded like they were cheering for me,” she said.

Supporters

Pack is quick to share the applause with the support team. “It’s not just the swimmers it took to put on this event, it’s all the supporters, too,” she said.

Dr. Silka echoed that sentiment. In 2024, when the event was reinstated under his guidance, he said that the CMH Foundation and Regatta Teams discussed whether to sponsor it again in 2025. “They found that it is just as much about the community coming together as the swim itself,” he said.

“They supported the cause in so many ways — at the finish line, as escorts on the kayaks and boats, and completing all the leg work before and during the event to keep it fun and safe,” said Silka.

“The spirit of this event is just so unique to Astoria.”