Attempting the Catalina Channel in Honor of Patrick Woepse
Written By: Elliot Ordway
On September 13th, I’ll be attempting the Catalina Channel swim – a 20-mile unassisted crossing in honor of my late teammate and friend, Patrick Woepse. The swim will take roughly 12 hours, no wetsuit, no physical contact with support crew, no exiting the water.
Pat and I played water polo together at UCLA for four years and stayed close until his death in October 2024 from NUT Carcinoma, a rare lung cancer. In the years after our time at UCLA, Pat took up open water swimming and completed both the Catalina and English Channel crossings. I crewed for him on his Catalina crossing and watched him accomplish something I hadn’t known was possible.
Pat’s guiding principle was “We can do hard things.” In that spirit, I’m taking on this swim in partnership with the The Patrick Woepse Foundation, co-founded by his wife, Maddie Musselman Woepse. The foundation supports NUT Carcinoma and rare cancer research, patient and family care, and advocacy within the rare cancer community.
I’m honored to carry the same principle with me across the channel in September, and grateful that it will benefit those impacted by the disease. My swim is completely self funded and 100% of donations go directly to the foundation. You can read more about Pat’s story, or support the cause by checking out The Patrick Woepse Foundation.
– Elliot Ordway
