Palfrey ends Cuba-Florida swim amid strong current

KEY WEST (AP) -- A support team member says endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey has ended her effort to become the first woman to swim unassisted from Cuba to the Florida Keys, about three quarters of the way along.

Andrea Woodburn, one of the team members, says Palfrey halted her effort early Sunday, July 1st -- about 26 miles south of Key West because of a strong ocean current.

Woodburn says she was in contact with Palfrey's boat and was told the swimmer had gotten out of the water right around midnight EDT. Woodburn says the British-born Australian is fine but gave no further details.

Palfrey had been swimming steady and strong and reported no physical complaints other than jellyfish stings earlier in the day on the more than 100-mile swim, according to her support team.

Diving into the clear blue water off Havana Friday, June 29th, Palfrey began her quest to swim from Cuba to the United States.

The Australian-British dual citizen swam without a shark cage, snorkel, flippers or wet suit. Palfrey estimated the journey would cover 103 miles (166 kilometers), much of it through shark infested waters.

"I am excited, a little nervous," she told reporters Friday while slathering one last coat of thick sunblock on herself. "I got about six hours of sleep last night, which is pretty good for the night before."

The swim could take anywhere from 40 to 60 hours, she estimated.

If successful, 49-year-old Palfrey would have surpassed the record that she set in 2011 for the longest unassisted swim. Palfrey swam over 67 miles from Little Grand Cayman island to Big Grand Cayman island.

In 1997, fellow Australian swimmer Susie Malroney completed a Florida-to-Cuba swim but while inside a shark cage.

In 2011, long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad twice tried but failed to complete the same journey. Nyad was waylaid by asthma attacks and stings from Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish.

A Lycra suit provided Palfrey some protection from the jellyfish and long cables called "shark shields" were strung from the kayaks and boats around her to ward off larger predators.

"They emit an electric field through the water which, when a shark comes within five meters, it picks up the sensors on the snout but they don't like it. They swim away," Palfrey said as she prepared for the swim.

Palfrey, who is a mother of three and grandmother of two, said she hoped swimming in the wake of Tropical Storm Debby would provide her with calm seas.

A crew of 15, including medical personnel and meteorologists, shadowed Palfrey from boats and kayaks.