Woman spends New Year's Eve swimming across Tampa Bay

TAMPA, Fla. - A Connecticut woman spent most of New Year's Eve swimming solo, 24 miles, across Tampa Bay.

Dr. Marcella "Marcy" MacDonald, 54, is a marathon swimmer who's crossed the English Channel 15 times successfully.

The water temperature was 64 degrees, and it took the marathon swimmer nine hours and 13 minutes after starting at 6:20 Sunday morning, while it was still dark out.

She began off the coast of south St. Petersburg, passed by downtown St. Pete, near the Gandy, under the Howard Frankland, past some dolphins, pausing to eat and drink with help from her support crew, and finished the swim at the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

The Connecticut physician was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005.

She plans to swim Tampa Bay again in the 20th Annual 24 Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim on April 21, 2018, which starts at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and ends on the Courtney Campbell Causeway.