Swimming Like It's 1954...!

Tom Bartlett, 72 years of life, attempting TODAY to become the oldest man in the record books to have crossed Lake Ontario - by swim, yeah! Man - 72... that is, almost, Aquaman's true age right there! (Never mind the other guy... Y'know; born in Maine, fearful of lawsuits, misbegotten mutations galore? Never mind... But, hey - today's swimmer's name is Tom: just like Aquaman's dad, the lighthouse keeper, played by... well, the same actor who was Boba Fett's dad, Jango. Whatsisname again? He who once was a warrior - and wife beater. Ugh. Never mind!!!)
Tom (Bartlett now) swam into those waters starting with Niagara By The Lake early in the morning, and if all goes as planned, should have his name in the record books by the end of the day! If he succeeds, he becomes grander than make-believe aquaficionados, de facto; and automatically surpasses even my aqua hero in real life... Diana! Remember her?

Come on now! You must have heard of her! 

Diana Nyad!

We certainly made mention of her often enough... 

... here - on aqua musings! 

Truth be told...

 DC's NAIAD never came close to her greatness - 

(though she must certainly inspired her creation!) 

and that's a FACT... Jack! 

That isn't quite ''Naiad', though - this is DC's character: 

...in context, now; 

and my luminous version of that:

She was pretty darn close to achieving 

true blue Luminous Aquaficionada status, though - 

luminous truth be told! 

But then DC decided to dump her - 

in favor of a reworking of the fabled 

Lady Of The Lake...! 

(circa 2003) 

(... needless to say... that didn't last!)

And then there's homegrown talent such as... 

Dolphin. 

Hmm... is that Dolphin? Probably not - this is Dolphin:

And then it was back to the drawing board - 

and

Queen of the Seven Seas 

and true Aquaficionada Supreme 

- revamped and reworked for the Notties! 

But that is another story...!!! 

Back to TOM now! 

UNFORTUNATELY, we have to report that 

things did not go exactly as planned by or for 

Tom Bartlett and his swim across Lake Ontario... 

(And we do mean Tom Bartlett, swimmer of 72 years of age 

not Tom Bartlett guitars... 

or Tom Bartlett of American Tower...! 

(Google that - and you'll see!)

He gave it a good shot - tremendous shot, really: 

he was at it for over twenty (20) hours 

and had crossed forty-one (41) kilometers worth of it - 

at which point he had to put a stop to his attempt 

as the waters deemed ''warm and calm'' initially 

became rough and unpredictable around 

them Toronto Islands... 

CTV Kitchener reported it - 

video included. 

The most luminous bit of advice (consolation, really) 

given to Tom, afterwards - via the 98.1 CHFI page 

on good ol' FB, actually - was the following: 

penned by one Gordon Farrow: 

"How many 70+ year-olds have swum as much...? 

Tom, look at it in the light - and wish you all the best 

in the future." 

It was not Diana Nyad but really Marilyn Bell 

-another luminous aquaficionada- 

whose aquatic exploits had inspired Tom 

into attempting this; she had crossed that lake 

- successfully - back in 1954 indeed. 

Marilyn has several extra exploits to her credit, too: 

Aquaficionadas > aquaficionados - always! 

STILL... 

Tom will not be detracted: 

his daughter -Sherry- has confirmed it - 

he will try again! 

Maybe in three... or five years, Tom? 

After all, it wasn't until he was past 75 

(the ripe old age of 78, actually...) 

that AQUAMAN finally got his due...! 

*lol*

She's No Nyad...!

And yet - CNN gives this synchronized swimmer 

- hailing from Espanâ of all places - 

almost as much importance as the age-defying, 

currents-challenging and 

all-around stunning seawoman 

that the one, the only 

legendary open-water endurance swimmer 

Diana Nyad unquestionably is...! 

That is simply OUTRAGEOUS! 

But that's another story - 

check out Barcelona's Barracuda first...

CNN likes this water-logged creature a hell of a whole lot; 

still, ''Siren from Spain'' eluded them completely 

when it came time to affix her a catchy title...  

Perhaps they feared the negative connotation 

attached to that sobriquet? 

Me, I would have welcomed the sincerity 

and disarming honesty, 

since we are talking about an ambitious grrl here 

and one who hails from Barcelona at that...

Speaking of Barracuda though - 

here's a freebie for the seas; 

the wild wild web's dangerous seas, that is!

Don't mention it... *B*!  

Now back to our subject here - our true subject being... 

Diana! Diana Nyad - yes! 

She who dove in three times - three times!!! - 

in a determined attempt to be the first 

to successfully cover the distance between 

Cuba and Florida 

swimming in the sea, past all manners 

of predators - and jellyfish, too! 

Alas, all three times, she had failed. 

Yet she would try again...

But wait a minute now - 

Diana Nyad may have been 

the most obsessive about accomplishing it 

but she is not, by no means, the only granny 

who tried to do it: 

British-Australian swimmer Penny Palfrey 

also gave it the good ol' college try; 

to no avail, probably, 

since Diana (not Naida, as some newspapers reversed) 

was still in line for the title of 

''first person to successfully swim the distance 

between Havana harbor and the Florida Keys!''

The picture above, for some unfathomable reason, 

which was taken by one Ramon Espinosa, AP, 

makes one think of those daring dames 

that tried to go through Niagara Falls 

inside a barrel...! 

Don't know why...!

Diana Nyad's pics don't have that same effect; 

see for yourselves...!

An Aquawoman true and true - 

she evokes only TIMELESSNESS and AWESOMENESS 

as she finally crossed the distance 

at the age of 64...!

Nyad, the one true Naiad, bar none,

finally achieved what she strove to be the best at 

for the longest time; 

be the first one, the only one 

(bar the existence of an actual Aquaman) 

to swim this incredible distance 

without the insurance of a shark cage 

covering one's, ah, assets! 

She tried three times, 

and failed. 

Finally, this September, 

on what was her fourth attempt, 

she made it through!

Nyad Triumphant! 

It took her 53 HOURS to do it - 

and she wasn't in such great shape when she arrived 

(seawater does that to you, y'know) 

but she became, officially, the first one to bridge that divide 

without the benefit of a shark cage indeed!

courtesy: Associated Press 

She was so sure she would succeed in 2010 -

and, again, last year, at age 62, she was convinced that 

the third time would be the charm and that she would be 

celebrating her 63rd birthday in the Keys 

with a victory party as well... 

But she was destined to be crowned 

queen of this particular neck of the seas 

at 64 - and in 2013 - not before!

Here we see the legendary endurance swimmer 

Diana Nyad once again 

with her trainer, Bonnie Stoll, hugging (but not kissing)

(this isn't a kiss-n-tell after all) 

mer-moments after Nyad finally came ashore 

in Key West, Florida 

after swimming for 53 hours from Cuba. 

Nyad thus became the first person 

to swim from Cuba to Florida 

without the help of a shark cage - 

a record that should never be equaled. 

Picture: AP Source: AP

When she first attempted this, back in 1978, 

Nyad was only 28 years of age, 

coming of age and coming out, too...! 

The 103-mile journey in the unforgiving seas 

didn't scare her then, though; 

it wouldn't scare her now, 

given that she matured so very well...

Younger Nyad would fail only due to 

unpredictable heavy waves 

and strong naval winds; 

older Nyad prevailed 

against all odds!

Undeterred at each and all of her attempts  

as by the daunting task that laid ahead, 

Diana Nyad's fiercest obstacle remained 

those pesky Portuguese Man-O-Wars - 

and not the sharks at all! 

Figures that a Mitylenian Nymph would have 

trouble with man-o-wars and not fins, though...

As a matter of fact, it was after being stung 

repeatedly by these fiercest of sea creatures 

that Nyad had given up her previous two attempts 

before finally succeeding, at last, now.

courtesy: GETTY. 

When not so drenched, and even a tad parched, 

Diana Nyad is quite the Luminous Lady, I would say!

Diana Nyad has become an inspiration to all -

through this single most impressive exploit, 

she proves that anyone, anywhere, can accomplish 

whatever one wants to set out to accomplish; 

all you have to do is display tenacity 

and perseverance - as she has done.

If you fail once, twice or thrice -

you just keep on trying 

and you will succeed, eventually!

(Maybe not on the fourth try as she did, though; 

but eventually, surely!)

Diana Nyad in full aqua regalia!

Diana Nyad's exploits have been immortalized 

in many ways now: 

among them, this special documentary 

courtesy of the Legacy Boutique -

check it out! 

Her overall look has been emulated 

across the globe, too...

All aqua-tics admit it: they've got NYAD-ennvy! 

She is an AQUAFICIONADA like no other! 

Still... There are many skeptics out there, lost at sea...  

So many under-the-weather (or under the water) doubters! 

Among them, the hardcore fans of one Lynne Cox: 

imagine that these peeps would say to thee 

that she is greater than Diana Nyad...!

HA! 

Lynne has got Sally The Seal's vote though, 

or so it would appear here...

And to them, we shall say here and now: 

HERESY - or hearsay? 

One or the other...! 

Lynne Cox's another fine 

AQUAFICIONADA though -

that is for sure!

More on her... some other aqua time!

Same aqua channel! 

;-) 

And The Ultimate Aquaficionada is...

Bathing Beauties and Screen Sirens - both, 
over the years -more than a century now- 
that there has been films, movies... talkies! 
Obviously, over all this time, there have been 
countless occasions where a naked nymph has emerged 
and the spectators collectively gasped at the sight of 
such a Venus emerging from the foam of the sea...!
So then...
It is surely time that we, at Aqua Musings, 
proud sires of the special kind of siren known as 
the AQUAFICIONADA, 
crown such a cinematic version 
of our coveted concept...!
Who shall be, therefore, the
ULTIMATE AQUAFICIONADA...?

Is it Lia Beldam, from The Shining?

 Angie Dickinson, (Un)Dressed To Kill?

Eva Grimaldi during her Quiet (and lewd) Days In Clichy...?!?

Antonia Santilli (wishing she was) The Boss?

Lisa Machulska... King Size (but small glimpse!)


Lisa Niemi - posing in Slam Dance


Lisa Belle - all wet `n` gooey in The Theatre Bizarre


Lisa Eilbacher (Perfect Score Eilbacher!)
taking a bath in Live Wire...

Lynette & Leigh Harris
- much better than those Hammer Films twins
 (or the Bella Twins!)
from the forgettable ``Sorceress``of 1982...

Or either Cherie Lunghi
or Alice Krige -
bathing beauties...


Well that`s for the softcore choices, anyways;
Mariner Kevin Costner`s preference -
if one believes what he said to Susan Sarandon
in yet another movie...!
(And surely you noticed that
we disqualified all Baywatch Babes
from the get-go... by default!
One has got to have... sea principles here!)
And yet... We could always go
a step beyond our comfort zones here...
sink a little deeper, in other words...
and go with either one of these
latest (but hardly greatest) entries:


Julie Smith
(never to be mistaken for Andrews)
in the ``H_ipnotika`` shower...
Or...

Jazy Berlin,
another avid showerer and, therefore,
 aquaficionada by association...
Also an alleged member of
an ``All-Babe Network``

This has been a simulpost
from the TLB Prime Network
in collaboration with
our own ``taste-testing blog``
and another rather... ah... luscious blog
- where such things belong, usually!
:-!

Thanks to SearchCelebrityHD.com
xHamster and Celebrity Sleuth, also,
for making all of those classics
(and unclassics alike)
so readily accessible!

Diana Nyad...

approves!

(Many of her all-time favorites made the list!)

(We suspect she`d vote for Lia!)

Lia Beldam does stand out for various reasons here, too: 

not only is it tasteful nudity and all...

(seriously undermined by lengthy shots of Jack, tho...!)

but... DID YOU LOOK AT THAT BATHROOM?

WOW - WHAT A BATHROOM!

And the colors are not-so-coincidentally... AQUA colors!

(as in Aquaman`s indeed!) 

Orange borders and green contrasting with luminous white walls...

Very hard to resist, for us... indeed!!!

And yet...

We might skip them all - 

and just give our vote to iluviar`s mermaid... still!

That`s just us!