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ANCHOR: Tonight, Tyler Brewer completes his tribute series on the victims of the Galaxy yacht with a profile of a famous name in swimming who, tragically, was lost to the sea.
REPORTER: Thank you, Jim. Geri Reede was most at home in the water. From the age of three, she was swimming at a local pool in Mission Viejo, California. Before she was ten, she was competing in national events. A self-described “pool rat” and the daughter of a swim-instructor mother and an oceanographer father, Geri qualified for the US Olympic team when she was nineteen. She went to the Games in Sydney and won a gold medal in the breaststroke and two silvers in the relay events. She made the team again four years later and captured a silver medal in Athens before retiring from the sport and spending a year as a global ambassador for world hunger.
At twenty-six, Reede decided to try medical school, but left after two semesters. Describing herself as “restless” without competitive sports, she spent a year crewing with the yacht Athena, an America’s Cup challenger.
Eventually Reede partnered with a fitness company to create Water Works!, a health-care line for athletes that blossomed into a hugely successful company. Reede’s signature spiked blond hair and smart if somewhat acerbic style endeared her to fans, and she became a spokesperson in the Water Works! ad campaigns.
Although Geri Reede never married or had children, she often spoke about the importance of early swimming lessons for kids. “Fear of the water is one of the earliest fears we have,” she once said. “The faster we get over it, the faster we learn how to overcome others.”
Reede was thirty-nine years old when she vanished with nearly four dozen others aboard the Galaxy.
“Geri was a trailblazer and an inspiration for young women everywhere,” said Yuan Ross, a spokesperson for USA Swimming. “She was somebody you wanted on your team, in the pool and in life. Losing her is a tragedy.”
Sea
My dear Annabelle. It’s been days since I last wrote you. A weakness has taken hold of my body and my soul. I can barely lift pen to paper. So much has happened, some of which I still cannot accept.
By our nineteenth day, hunger and thirst had completely overtaken us. We’d eaten every part of the bird that was edible. Geri balled up some of the flesh in an attempt at fishing. She fashioned a hook from a small wing bone and dropped the line in the water. As exhausted as we were, we pulled ourselves over to watch.
Then Yannis yelled, “Look!” In the distance, gray clouds were packed together, with a funnel-shaped darkness dropping to the sea.
“Rain,” Geri rasped, her voice thin from dehydration. We perked up at the idea of fresh water. But the wind began gusting wildly. The waves increased. We rose and fell and rose and fell, the raft floor slapping with each new bump.
“Grab on to something,” Yannis yelled. Geri, the Lord, and I hooked our arms around the safety rope. Lambert ducked under the canopy, as did Nina, Alice, and Jean Philippe. The raft bounced like an amusement park ride. We had not been this tossed since the night the Galaxy sank. The skies darkened. We rose sharply. I saw Geri staring over my shoulder. Her eyes widened.
“Hang on, Benji!” she yelled.
I spun in time to see a giant wave opening wide behind us, like the yawning mouth of a water beast. We were sucked up into it and tilted to the edge of flipping. Then an avalanche of white water crashed overhead, and I gripped the rope for dear life. Through the bubbly rush I saw a body shoot out from the canopy and wash over the side.
“Nina!” I heard Yannis yell. A second passed. Two. Three. We flattened out. I heard Nina’s voice against the surf, screaming for help. Where was she?
“There!” Geri yelled. “To the left!”
Before I could react, Yannis had hurled himself into the water and was swimming toward her.
“No, Yannis!” I screamed. Another swirl lifted us, and a wall of water slammed down. I wiped my eyes furiously. In the distance I saw Nina’s head bobbing up and down. She was a good twenty yards away now. Another wave smashed against the raft. I saw Geri trying to row, and I scrambled toward her, yelling, “Give me the other paddle!” Another crash. Another white shower.
“Where are they?” I screamed, wiping my eyes. “Where did they go?”
“There!” Jean Philippe yelled.
They were off to our right now, but farther away. I saw Yannis finally reach Nina. I saw them grasp each other. Together they went under, then resurfaced. Then another wave hit us. Then another. Then I couldn’t see them anymore.