1 September 2013 Last updated at 04:11 ET Diana Nyad has battled jellyfish, sharks and storms on her previous attempts
US endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is again trying to become the first person to swim from the Cuban capital, Havana, to Florida without a shark cage.Her last attempt, a year ago, was hampered by rough seas and jellyfish stings.
The 64-year-old says this will be her fifth and last try to cross the 166km-wide (103 mile-wide) Florida Straits.
She is wearing a special silicone mask to protect her face from the jellyfish.
In an update posted on her website shortly before midnight on Saturday local time (04:00 GMT on Sunday), members of her support team said she was doing “remarkably well” and that she was swimming at her expected pace.
“I think I have some luck in my favour with Mother Nature. And I’m ready and the jellyfish protection that we’ve spoken about [is] better than it’s ever been,” she said as she prepared to jump into the water in Havana on Saturday.
Lifetime ambitionMs Nyad said the specially-made mask makes it more difficult to breathe and would slow her down but would help her “get through those animals”.
She said it could take her up to three days to complete the crossing. She has a team of 35 people to help her keep her course and giver her food and water.
On her 2012 attempt, Diana Nyad’s face swelled up after being stung by jellyfish During her last attempt in August 2012, she had to be pulled out of the water after 41 hours when a squall and repeated stings by poisonous jellyfish made it impossible for her to continue.
She first tried to complete the crossing in 1978 with a shark cage.
A second attempt – without a cage – in 2011 had to be called off because of shoulder pain and an asthma attack. Later the same year, jellyfish stings ended her third bid at the crossing.
Speaking at a news conference in Cuba on Friday she said this would be her last attempt.
“It’s been thrilling for me – it was 35 years ago, and it still is – to do something no-one else has done. It’s all been worthwhile,” she said.
“But this time if I don’t make it, I will stand tall and I say: ‘I have nothing more to bring’.”
In June, Australian endurance swimmer Chloe McCardle tried to make the crossing without a shark cage but had to give up after also being stung by jellyfish.
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US swimmer on fifth Cuba-Florida bid
