Tampa veteran with a love for the open water plans to swim 14 miles

Tampa woman swimming around barrier islands

A 60-year-old woman is spending Friday swimming along Clearwater Beach and Caladesi Island. Before Lynn Griesemer began her journey before sunrise, she talked about her love for long-distance swimming.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Lynn Griesemer loves to swim and on Friday morning, she faced one of her biggest challenges.

Before sunrise, the 60-year-old Army veteran started her trek to swim around Clearwater and Caladesi Island for a total of 14 miles. She is on a mission to swim around several islands in the region. She said this will be her 21st and 22nd island to do so. Lynn said she previously swam around Shell Key, Deadman’s Key, and St. Pete Beach.

Her favorite was Treasure Island.

Back in 2020, when pools were shut down due to COVID-19, Lynn took her swimming to the open water and has been a long-distance swimmer ever since. Her first marathon distance around a piece of land was Davis Islands back in June 2020.

Lynn Grieseme at Clearwater Beach before she began her 14-mile swim around the area on Oct. 28, 2022.

Friday, Lynn's husband, Bob, will escort her on a kayak as she swims around Clearwater Beach and Caladesi Island. Bob and Lynn have been married since 1985. She has six adult children and two grandchildren.

Clearwater