Hey all, Chris on the web team again – the group out in Florida is probably going to be busy cheering, hugging and celebrating for a while. Unfortunately that means there won’t be a ton of updates here until they’ve had time to party down. The GPS tracker is going to follow whoever carries it – I think it’s actually on a ship anchored just off the beach right now. Hard to tell while everyone celebrates, so apologies for the lack of updates, but I hope everyone’s enjoyed the journey. I’m sure Diana will speak to the press as soon as she’s able – maybe today, maybe after a good long sleep.

Go party!

Update
Monday September 2, 2013 at 12:27pm. Swim Time: 51:27

Ops Chief John Barry called Diana over to the swim platform on Voyager to try to get her to follow the streamer and swim a direct route to Key West.

He knows Diana likes to have her picture taken, so he told her nobody was going to take her picture.

She asked why, and he replied “Because you’re going the wrong way!”

Nobody knows Diana better than her Xtreme Dream Team.

 

Box Jellyfish Spotted
Monday September 2, 2013 at 10am. Swim Time: 49:00
reported by: Katie Leigh

Angel showing the large moon jellies we are currently seeing. Additionally, the first box jellyfish of the entire trip was spotted and collected. It did not have any tentacles. Diana is still wearing her jellyfish suit and got a reapplication of sting stopper on her hands, face and feet.

Divers are swimming in the water ahead of Diana looking for jellyfish. Handlers and kayakers are continually yelling to Diana: “Follow the streamer!” so that she stays in a path that the divers have already checked for jellyfish. Diana responds, “I’ve never been able to follow it in my life!” The entire crew aboard Voyager laughs because it’s true.

 

Condition Report
Monday September 2, 2013 at 715am. Swim Time: 46:15
reported by: Katie Leigh

Dr. Kot reports that Diana’s tongue and lips are swollen causing her speech to be slurred. He and Dr. Covington are concerned about Diana’s airways, but have not intervened.

Diana has gotten very cold, so the handlers were not stopping her to eat and drink overnight in the hopes that swimming would keep her warm. Additionally it was difficult to get her oriented to the boat and where to go in the dark.

Both doctors were aboard Voyager all night long to monitor Diana’s condition.

Diana’s Condition Report, First Light
Monday, 7:30 a.m., Swim time: 46:31

When the whistle blew for Diana’s first feeding stop since before midnight, it took her longer than normal to reach Voyager and Handlers Bonnie, Pauline and Lois Ann, who were positioned on the swim platform near the water’s edge.

Bonnie first began by explaining to Diana that it would take longer than expected to reach Key West due to a change in currents. Diana’s lips and tongue were swollen, but her speech was understandable and she asked, “How far is it?” Navigator John Bartlett was consulted and the message was relayed to Diana: 6.5 miles.

Bonnie noted that Diana was talking and breathing better now than earlier in the night. She then explained to Diana that she would need to keep her jellyfish suit on for one more hour, until she got through the reef. There have been reports of moon jellies in that area. She also reapplied “sting stopper” to Diana’s forehead, cheeks and chin. “Don’t get it on my nose or eyes,” Diana said, still calling the shots after 46.5 hours of swimming.

Diana touched her head and noticed that her swim cap was missing. It had fallen off earlier in the night. When asked if she wanted a new one, she nodded yes, but didn’t wait for Lois Ann to return with it. Instead, she gave a small fist pump and started stroking again.

Within 10 minutes of starting, Bonnie said, “She’s really hurting,” and blew the whistle, telling Diana to swim breaststroke. “Your arms are really tired. Only until we take the suit off. Then you can swim crawl again for the rest of the time.” Diana nodded and did one breaststroke, then stopped and said, “I don’t want to do it,” and went back to swimming the crawl. ONWARD!

Update
September 2, 2013 at 5am. Swim Time: 44:00
Navigator John Bartlett

As Diana makes her approach to Key West, here is the latest update from Navigator John Bartlett.

Diana is on course to swim 112 statute miles. This is 35 more miles than anyone has ever swam.

We’re expecting to cross reef marker 32 at 11 a.m.

Then we have 5 miles to Smather’s Beach in Key West, which is 1 1/3 miles east of White Street Pier.

Local knowledge from teammates tells us it is an ideal landing spot for Diana.

We hope to make that landing between 4pm and 6pm today.

 

John Bartlett, who has been on the escort boat Voyager throughout the swim, has been sitting at the nav station there for the last couple hours working out the details.

“During this time, Diana has stopped numerous times to tread water trying to restore herself. We don’t know how strong she is swimming at this point, but we’ll get an update soon.” Usually seeing the dawn helps; daylight tends to uplift her.

John stresses the following: “The greatest variable here is the extension of human endurance; how long will it take her to make those last 100 strokes at the end, and all the ones from here to then?”