61-year-old Diana Nyad starts Cuba-to-Florida swim

At 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, American endurance swimmer Diana Nyad jumped into the sea and set off for Florida, 103 miles away. The 61-year-old Nyad is attempting to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.

"The adrenaline's flowing now," Nyad told the Associated Press. "I don't believe much in destiny, but you have to take what you can get, and this is what I dreamed of: a silver platter."

Dressed in a black swimsuit and a blue swim cap, Nyad played "Reveille" on a bugle, thanked well wishers and then entered the water. The swim is expected to take her 60 hours.

Nyad won't be alone. According to CNN, she will have a team of 30 people, five boats and six ocean kayaks alongside her. The kayakers will take turns paddling just inches from Nyad, towing electronic Shark Shields "that emit a harmless but annoying electrical impulse that repels most species of sharks." And shark safety officers will be on watch for any that get too close anyway. A doctor is also accompanying the team, to monitor Nyad's hydration and nutrition and tend any bites or wounds.

A sixth boat carrying Nyad's friends is expected to join up with the group for the last few hours of her swim.

As she swims, Nyad will be stopping every 45 minutes for 20 second hydration breaks, according to the AP. Every 90 minutes, she'll rest for 2 minutes and eat some bread or a spoonful of peanut butter. During the second day of the swim, Nyad will start drinking heated water and hot chocolate to ward off hypothermia.

For the record to count, Nyad cannot wear a wetsuit, and she is not allowed to touch the boats or be held by any of her handlers. Australian swimmer Susie Maroney successfully swam from Cuba to Florida in 1997, but she used a shark cage.

Nyad said that part of her motivation was to make a statement about what is possible at her age.

"I also want it to be a moment for thousands, and I dare say millions of people my age, who are going to look and say, '60!"' Nyad said at a news conference on Sunday, according to the AP. "The joke is 60 is the new 40, and it's true. We are a younger generation than the 60 that went before us."

"I'm almost 62 years old and I'm standing here at the prime of my life," she told CNN as she approached the water Sunday night. "I think this is the prime. When one reaches this age, you still have a body that's strong but now you have a better mind."

Nyad first attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida in 1978, when she was 28 years old. She swam inside a shark cage for 42 hours before sea currents forced her to quit.