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That's particularly the case at night, according to her support team of more than a dozen navigators, handlers and medical personnel who were escorting her on the 44-foot (13-meter) catamaran Sealuver.
Palfrey is no stranger to jellyfish stings, which forced her to abort two past swims in Hawaii.
A 20-year veteran of distance swimming, her personal best came last year when she completed 67 miles (108 kilometers) between Little Cayman and Grand Cayman islands.
At a news conference Thursday, Palfrey said she swam competitively in her youth but only discovered ultra-long-distance swimming later in life.
"I spent my teenage years swimming and studying, and then I've spent a lot of time raising my family and supporting my husband's business," she said. "And now I feel that it's my window in life to do something that I love to do. I don't believe that I can do it much later in life, so this is my opportunity now. "
Friday morning she was upbeat and focused on the task at hand as she prepared to set off from the Hemingway Marina in western Havana.
Asked about the first thing she planned to do on arrival in Florida, she laughed and said, "get out of the water."
"Beautiful sea, beautiful sunrise. It's a lovely morning in Cuba," Palfrey said. "Thanks. I'm gonna get started."
[Associated Press;
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