Fifteen swimmers entered the Columbia River near the Knappton Cove Heritage Center in Washington state on a rainy morning just before sunrise.

The last time an organized swim across the river occurred as part of the Astoria Regatta Festival was 90 years ago. A “Swim Across the Columbia” was brought back this year as part of a fundraiser for Columbia Memorial Hospital’s expansion project in Astoria.

The lights of Astoria in the distance were barely visible beyond the fog at the start of the 5-mile swim.

“I feel prepared, which is good. So excitement and nerves are just all a part of it,” said Grace Laman, a dietitian who serves on the Astoria School District Board.

Laman was the first woman to reach land in Astoria a few hours later.

“Paul (Silka), who has been organizing this, has done a really good job of making sure that safety is top priority, and I feel like we’re very well supported in the water,” she said of the Columbia Memorial emergency room medical director who led the event.

The swimmers took a curved course across the river to take advantage of tidal patterns and targeted the Columbia River Maritime Museum as the finish. Each swimmer had a kayaker alongside them, as well as bright swim caps and buoys to keep them visible to boaters during the busy Buoy 10 recreational salmon fishing season.

Matthew Knapik, of Portland, an experienced open water swimmer whose past swims include the English Channel and the San Francisco Bay at Alcatraz, reached ground on the Astoria side first among the swimmers after 2 hours and 57 minutes.

“The first two and a half hours were brilliant. The last half hour was a little tough,” Knapik said. “So I touched at the Bowline Hotel where the ladder goes in.”

Because of the tide, many swimmers drifted farther west than they would have liked even with their kayaking guides. Jet ski operators followed closely and picked up swimmers to bring to the Maritime Museum after reaching shore.

“We couldn’t have done this without the support team,” Silka said. “And we’ve got South Pacific County Technical Rescue team. They’ve been out kind of cleaning up the swimmers as we’ve landed up and down the (Astoria) Riverwalk here. So thank goodness to them.”

Members of the South Pacific County Technical Rescue team crossed the Columbia River in a 9-mile swim in June, part of an endurance challenge.

The swim on Aug. 11 for the Astoria Regatta was the latest endurance test by Columbia Memorial leaders to help raise money for the hospital. Other hospital staffers have participated in a 100-mile ultramarathon and a 24-hour ultraskate for the expansion project and a 180-mile bike ride in England for the Lower Columbia Hospice.