Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Diana Nyad

A  L  O  H  A !
Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky) (2006 Digital Remaster) by Bill Conti on Grooveshark
" Oh God!

The Ocean is SO Vast,

and I am SO small! "

Every Offshore Sailor EVER
myself included






"  The sea

 - this truth must be confessed - 

has no generosity. 

No display of (hu)manly qualities - 

courage, hardihood, endurance, 

faithfulness - has ever 

been known to touch

 its irresponsible consciousness

 of power. "


Joseph Conrad 









" Heroism

 is endurance

 for one moment 

more. "



George F. Kennan 







" Endurance 

is patience 

concentrated. "



Thomas Carlyle 









" Endurance is nobler 

than strength, 

and patience

 than beauty. "


John Ruskin 






Arriving in Key West
is always an occasion,
but especially so
when you are Diana Nyad
completing
what you have attempted,
and failed,
for 35 years.

5 Failures;
Now Preparatory
Efforts.

Most of us
feel wise
for accepting
our limitations
and uncompleted
dreams.

That is the hallmark
of maturity
we assure ourselves.

But Diana
(a goddess's name)
at age 64
became the 
First Human
to swim the Florida Straits
from Cuba.

110 Miles.

53 Hours.

Swimming.

She also set a
New Record:
Longest ocean swim
 without a shark cage
 or flippers.

The only other person,
(also a woman)
to  "swim" the straits:

Australian Susie Maroney,

in 1997 at age 22
in a shark cage.

"The cage glided on ocean currents
 and enabled Maroney
 to make the journey
 in just 25 hours."

Chicago Tribune
LINK.


Diana's first attempt
was in 1978
at age 28.

It was the agonizing stings
of Jellyfish,
not sheer distance
that defeated her before.
This time she wore
protective (constricting?)
gear.

" Endure and persist;

 this pain will turn

 to good

 by and by. "

Ovid 


This has been SO true
in my life.
Wishing YOU
all that is Good,
by and by.

"If it's not right,
it's not over."

                                     Fondly, cloudia



29 comments:

eViL pOp TaRt said...

A true triumph of the human spirit was Diana Nyad's swim! It deserves an epic poem!

Such lovely scenes and quotes!

Joop Zand said...

Very nice photo's with lovely colors.

greetings from Holland, Joop

Brian Miller said...

what an inspiring woman eh? without hte protection of that cage as well imagining those jelly fish stings is kinda scary....endurance for one more moment...that is a great quote...

aloha from va

Nordis said...

Beautiful photos and very wise words.
Greetings from
Nordis
Norway

Anonymous said...

Hooray for Diana! Makes me want to swim in the ocean, but I look out and see Kansas!
Love your photos, as usual, especially "water pearl in petal."
Amazing orange orchids are they?
Kitty lookin' around da corner, eh?
DrumMajor

Daryl said...

it was an amazing accomplishment .. brava to her for persevering

Adam said...

I heard about her swim, I can barely swim 10 feet

TexWisGirl said...

truly an amazing person full of drive and perseverance.

make sure you stop over today. :)

Maude Lynn said...

I can't even imagine doing what she did!

21 Wits said...

A fine tribute for Diana. So ironic Jellyfish, like the sea, can be wonderful and (stingy)deadly at the same time. Smiles and hugs for kitty.

Myrna R. said...

I love the picture of the rainbow, the cat. Love them all actually.

I have so much to learn about endurance and perseverance. And I'm running out of time. Diana is an inspiration.

Kay said...

These are such gorgeous photos, Cloudia. We were in awe of Diana Nyad. I can still hardly believe she actually did it. Wow! It goes to prove you just gotta keep trying.

Akelamalu said...

Lovely pics Cloudia. x

Bob Bushell said...

You blew my mind away, especially the first, second and third. wow, those pictures are superb.

Charles Gramlich said...

Never been out in the deep ocean but I can imagine I'd feel the same way about it.

G-Man said...

Crazy Bitch!!!!

Diana NOT You!

Well.....

Giga said...

Ocean jest wielki , a ja taka mała. Przeraża mnie to, ale i jestem szczęsliwa, bo jednak jestem. Pozdrawiam.
The ocean is great, and I'm so small. It scares me, but I am lucky because I still am. Yours.

Hattie said...

I am thrilled at her triumph!

Vagabonde said...

53 hours in the sea! That is really extraordinary. Your music goes so well with this record.

Elephant's Child said...

If at first you don't succeed...

Erik Donald France said...

Astonishing, indeed. Nyad sounds like a Greek goddess. Add to the Roman Diana, yes?

Beauteous pix and quips, to boot :->

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

The novel Water Dancer by Jenifer Levin is about long-distance swimming. Quite a good read, and timely given Nyad's accomplishment.

Pietro Brosio said...

Very fine images and wise words and quotes!

Hilary said...

I was so happy to hear that she made it. What an inspiration she is. A fine tribute to her, Cloudia.

Cloudia said...

Wow, thanks,

each of You!

MastHoliday said...

Stunning, Absolutely!

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

Cloudia, that first picture is a beauty!

Duncan In Kuantan

PerthDailyPhoto said...

It was an awesome feat for sure I'm just not sure why it was necessary, as you say the ocean takes no prisoners! I guess there will always be people that have to test their abilities to the maximum extreme...Little cutie Pixie, I see you :))

Betty Manousos said...

what an amazing accomplishment! she truly is an amazing person.

the last photo of the leaf with the droplet is really great!