At 8 a.m on Saturday, Andrew Simmonds, 60, entered the chilling waters of Sandy Beach, setting out to prove that age has not slowed him down one bit.

His goal-to swim across Frederick Sound to the mainland over six miles away.

Though his swim began on Saturday, his journey to that moment began much earlier.

Soon after arriving in Petersburg in November, Simmonds, who is a physical therapist at the Petersburg Medical Center, visited Sandy Beach to gaze out over Frederick Sound.

There he admired the whales leaping above the water and crashing back down, but beyond that the mainland caught his...