UC Santa Barbara swimmer will make his biggest swim for healthcare workers on Saturday

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A UC Santa Barbara swimmer hopes you will help him make a big splash with a charity event this Saturday.

Daniel Marella is swimming from Isla Vista to the Yacht Club in Santa Barbara. The distance is ten miles.

Marella is a junior and the team captain.

Donations will help with COVID-19 home kits, for those who are sick and at home recovering.  The kits include thermometers, pulse oximeters and educational materials, which help limit overcrowding of local hospitals and allow hospital employees to focus on patients in need of urgent attention. 

Funds will also help front line Cottage Hospital workers who have additional costs while handling their critical work assignments.

"About a month ago I did a six mile swim and I was kind of joking around with my coach saying, 'I think I can do 10 miles.' and about a week later I said 'If I am going to do 10 miles I might as well do it as a fundraiser'," said Marella. 

"Santa Barbara is such an aquatics city people would give money that has to do with aquatics. Ten miles for Cottage hospital, I thought was a really good idea," he said.

Marella has been working out in a pool and the ocean but he's never done a swim like this before.

After he leaves by his home is Isla Vista, he will go out about 100 yards and turn to Santa Barbara. He plans to finish his swim at about 11 am.

The water temperature is expected to be about 59 degrees, slightly cooler than it was last weekend.

Marella says he plans to go at a warm-up pace for the first three miles, then a steadier pace the rest of the way.

It is not known if he will change his swimming strokes along the way.

If you want to swim with Marella along the way, they encourage people to join in with a donation of $100 a mile.

There are other ways to support the swim, from the Double Dolphin sailboat for the last two miles of the swim. 25 sears are available.

Marella is very outspoken about efforts to stop the coronavirus and the impacts it has on the country, especially students and student athletes. He hopes NCAA swimming competitions can resume in January.

But for any return to normalcy, he urges people to wear a mask and get over the crisis as soon as possible.

Marella is from the Bay area, and has only been home once since March for a brief visit. He has been staying in his "bubble" and COVID-free with his teammates.

He does say there's been reckless behavior in other areas of Isla Vista that he says is not a risk that's necessary.

For more information about the swim and to make a donation, click here.

Once on the page, you can click “Cottage Emergency Response Fund.” There is a place to make a contribution specifically to “Daniel’s Fight Against COVID Swim." You can write it into the appropriate box.

If you have any questions write to M4L@cox.net 

For more information go to : UCSB Marella Swim against COVID-19