Diana Nyad - Cuba to Key West

Today, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Key West, without assistance or the use of a shark cage.  An amazing feat and Mark and I were very excited to be there when she staggered out of the surf here in Key West.  

Diana left Hemingway Marina in Havana, Cuba on Saturday and reached Smathers Beach in Key West today at around 2pm.  She spent 52 hours, 54 minutes and 18.6 seconds in the water and covered 110 actual miles.  Can you image swimming that far? Incredible.  This was her fifth attempt since 1978. Jelly fish stings, rough seas and shoulder pain thwarted her until today.  

Mark and I had been watching her progress since she jumped in the water in Havana. For some reason, we had a really good feeling about this attempt.  

This morning, when we got up at 5am, she was 13 miles from shore.  We got in a quick run and a nap, and then biked down to Smather's Beach to cheer on her arrival.  

The early crowd was small which was good for us, we were able to get a great position right behind the barriers and the EMT's who were waiting for her. We would have a fantastic view as she came to shore.  As more people arrived, we became packed in against the wooden barriers. I'm very claustrophobic, so I made sure not to look behind me. 




Diana is somewhere in the middle of the boats that are headed to shore. She's probably a mile out at this point. She had ten boats and kayaks around her, watching out for jelly fish and keeping boaters from running her over. At one point, in the middle of the night, a cruise ship diverted it's course to steer clear! Mark and I were concerned, at one point, by 5 or 6 jet skis that blew threw an area near where she was swimming.

Unfortunately for us, after pausing just off shore, Diana opted to swim towards a different section of the beach than the area set up for her.  Once people realized she wasn't going to come to the reception site, the crowd just dissolved into chaos as everyone ran down to be near the landing.

Mark and I were quickly separated and neither of us ended up with a clear view of her arrival. I got some shaky video holding my phone over my head, along with a couple hundred other people, and then gave up and headed towards the sidewalk. Somehow, I ended up being in the path the EMT's took, taking Diana to the ambulance, so I got a shot of her face as they wheeled her by. 

It was an amazing experience to watch this lady complete such a phenomenal athletic feat.  We were really pleased to see the size and enthusiasm of the crowd and felt quite privileged to be a part of it.

Here's a link to the best video of her coming ashore. 

Smather's Beach

Mark here.  It's time for this blog to broaden it's perspective.

We all know, there is not a chance in the world that you can come to the lower Keys without putting in some beach time.  It's just not reasonable.  You'd feel like a dork going home without a good tan and the other kids would make fun of you.

There are two primary options in Key West; Smather's Beach and the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park.  We'll tackle Ft Zach another time.  This post will focus on Smather's.

Smather's Beach is the largest and most popular beach on Key West. It lies along the center of the island on the Atlantic side. If you stay in the hotels on the east end of the island, it's easily accessible on foot or bike. There is a nice wide promenade all along the shore that extends from the eastern extreme of the island to the end of the beach. If you aren't ready to hike on a warm day, it also has lots of parking.

Once you get there, it's a great place to lounge away the hangover you earned on Duval Street last night.  The size of the crowd varies pretty wildly with the day of the week and time of year and that's OK. Some days you really prefer some lighter crowds, anyway, and other times you need some eye candy to keep your spirits up.

If last night didn't suck away all of your "feisty", the beach has vendors that will rent everything you need for a grand day on the water.  They have catamarans, paddleboards, wind surfers, jet-skis and, undoubtedly, other options that I'm forgetting.  On the western end of the beach, you can also rent an umbrella or chaise to keep you more comfortable.

You won't need to drag food along with you. You'll find several food vendors that routinely park along the road and offer a nice variety of food or snacks.  They are also a great place to enjoy the prettier highlights of the beach.  (During Spring Break, Smathers is the main gathering point for the college crowd.)

                                                                                    Steve is one of our favorite vendors.  His Italian Ice is fabulous and our favorite flavor is probably the Black Cherry.  Mango is also pretty darn good.

For us, a beach is more appealing when it's just a mellow place to relax.  We're always up for a stroll in the surf.

We'll do a post about the beach at Fort Zach sometime soon.