Diana Nyad nearing end of record-setting Cuba-to-Florida swim
Diana Nyad nearing end of record-setting Cuba-to-Florida swim
Nyad has made it farther in this attempt than in any of her prior four tries. She was about 5 miles from Florida on Monday morning, her representatives told the media, and is expected to arrive in Key West today between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Chicago time.
The marathon swimmer is making her fifth and final attempt at the crossing, this time using a protective silicone mask to better protect her from the poisonous jellyfish that forced her to end one of two attempted crossings last year.
Nyad said at the outset that the custom-made mask slows her and makes it more difficult to breath. Officials initially estimated it could take up to three days to complete the swim, but Nyad was benefitting from a favorable current, her crew members said.
The treacherous Florida Straits has been conquered only once, by Australian Susie Maroney, who used a protective cage at age 22 during a 1997 swim. The cage glided on ocean currents and enabled Maroney to make the journey in just 25 hours.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-diana-nyad-cuba-florida-swim-20130902,0,7997728.story
= new reply since forum marked as read
the naiads:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=
&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naiad&h=289&w=220&sz=17&tbnid=niUSFAcv7DJmLM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=69&zoom=1&usg=__jtQsMobtKWevsZMirtNwbFbPJyI=&docid=rhZG-IJomTfysM&sa=X&ei=e64kUsKMG4aCyAGXo4GwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CEsQ9QEwBA&dur=1897
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=
&imgrefurl=http://www.cab.u-szeged.hu/wm/paint/auth/boucher/&h=486&w=800&sz=59&tbnid=QsqT7AFCqPN5lM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=148&zoom=1&usg=__RDIt8IFEvkOWcYKwCjvWuao_t8Q=&docid=Bbt3HxpTE-l6HM&sa=X&ei=e64kUsKMG4aCyAGXo4GwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CE4Q9QEwBQ&dur=431
by Bob Fisher
The Naiads were nymphs of bodies of fresh water and were one of the three main classes of water nymphs - the others being the Nereids (nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea) and the Oceanids (nymphs of the oceans). The Naiads presided over rivers, streams, brooks, springs, fountains, lakes, ponds, wells, and marshes. They were divided into various subclasses: Crinaeae (fountains), Pegaeae (springs), Eleionomae (marshes), Potameides (rivers), and Limnades or Limnatides (lakes). Roman sources even assigned custody of the rivers of Hades to Naiads classified as Nymphae Infernae Paludis or the Avernales.
Naiads
The Naiad was intimately connected to her body of water and her very existence seems to have depended on it. If a stream dried up, its Naiad expired. The waters over which Naiads presided were thought to be endowed with inspirational, medicinal, or prophetic powers. Thus the Naiads were frequently worshipped by the ancient Greeks in association with divinities of fertility and growth.
The genealogy of the Naiads varies according to geographic region and literary source. Naiads were either daughters of Zeus, daughters of various river gods, or simply part of the vast family of the Titan Oceanus. Like all the nymphs, the Naiads were in many ways female sex symbols of the ancient world and played the part of both the seduced and the seducer. Zeus in particular seems to have enjoyed the favors of countless Naiads and the other gods do not seem to have lagged far behind. The Naiads fell in love with and actively pursued mortals as well. Classical literature abounds with the stories of their love affairs with gods and men and with the tales of their resulting children.
Stories of the Naiads could take the form of cautionary tales with unhappy endings. The Naiad, Nomia, fell in love with a handsome shepherd named Daphnis and could not do enough for him. He repaid her love with unfaithfulness and she repaid his inconstancy by blinding him. The Naiads of a spring in Bithynia took a liking to Hylas (companion of Heracles) and lured him into their waters. The cautionary element is uncertain here. The fate of Hylas could have been either an abrupt death by drowning or everlasting sexual bliss.
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http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/naiads.html
she has earned it.
60 fuckin two. i did not know that. really? did i get that right. that is beyond awesome. wowser.
Others have made it, but not without the aid of a shark cage, flippers or wet suit. This is a record. To swim 112 statute miles, 35 more miles than anyone has ever swam.
When she announced she was going to try again, the patronizing guys on ESPN kind of laughed and rolled their eyes.
This is what a champion looks like, boys.
you can see her team on the horizon so close
via Twitter
She Couldn't Wait to Say Thanks
Monday September 2, 2013 at 10:40am. Swim Time: 49:40
Well, Diana Nyad's only failure today was her inability to make it to 50 hours without a big chat. That's a long time not to talk for an extrovert like Diana, so 49 hours and 40 minutes into the swim with two miles to go as the crow flies, Diana called all five boats together in a circle around her and treaded water. She wanted to tell us something:
"Hi everybody," she said, apologizing first for any lack of clarity in her articulation. "I have some bad abrasions in my mouth from the jellyfish mask, so excuse me if I have trouble talking."
And then she proceeded to have no trouble talking.
Looking around at us as we bobbed on the boats, she said: "I am about to swim my last two miles in the ocean. This is a lifelong dream of mine and I'm very very glad to be with you. Some on the team are the most intimate friends of my life and some of you I've just met. But I'll tell you something, you're a special group. You pulled through; you are pros and have a great heart. So let's get going so we can have a whopping party."
"Thank you, all of you, thank you for your generosity."
Update: 10 boats have assembled around Diana at 2.5 miles outside of Key West.