Katie Pumphrey, who planned to repeat her 24-mile swim from the Chesapeake Bay into the Inner Harbor today, ended the swim early due to safety concerns.

Pumphrey started the swim a little after 1 a.m. on Tuesday at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, according to an update on social media. But increasingly high winds and deteriorating conditions caused safety concerns.

“Around 2 a.m.— due to deteriorating conditions and increasingly high winds— we made the difficult decision to abort the swim,“ reads the post on social media. ”Katie was swimming strong, but everyone’s safety was a concern."

Pumphrey still plans to swim from Fort McHenry into the Inner Harbor later today, and there will be a celebration at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater between noon and 3 p.m.

Calling the swim her “love letter to Baltimore,” the artist and athlete said in an interview earlier this month that she hopes to complete this swim “many, many times” in her lifetime.

Last year, she completed the 24-mile swim in under 14 hours in warm water and while dealing with a disadvantageous tide.

Pumphrey entered the water on Tuesday several hours earlier than her previous bay-to-harbor swim. She hoped starting earlier in the day — and earlier in the year — would have the tides working in her favor, giving her a push toward the harbor. Pumphrey said she hoped to see marine life.

“If I were to see a river otter during this ride, my heart would just explode,” she said.

Pumphrey was the first one to do the swim, the longest anyone had attempted in the harbor in decades. The water last year was warmer, in the 80s, and she hoped the temperature would be cooler — likely in the 70s — which is more ideal. Pumphrey said she trains in cold water.

In her first swim, Pumphrey wanted to bring awareness to how much the Inner Harbor had improved. She collaborated with the Waterfront Partnership after advocates announced the Harbor Splash, in which Baltimoreans signed up to jump into the water.

Pumphrey said she wants to keep the conversation surrounding a clean harbor going. A recent Blue Water Baltimore report card showed that water quality measures have declined since 2013.

“It was a big year, but it was not a finish line,” Pumphrey said. “There’s more work to do, and I want to keep championing the organizations that are doing the work to get there.”

Baltimore Banner audience engagement editor Stokely Baksh contributed to this article.