Swimmer Penny Palfrey, a 47-year-old grandmother, began her 72-mile swim to Kauai before dawn this morning at Kaena Point.

At the same time, her husband, Chris Palfrey, began his 26-mile swim across the Kaiwi Channel to Molokai. If he's successful, he will become the 12th person to swim the channel between Molokai and Oahu.

It should take Penny Palfrey about 30 to 40 hours of swimming across the channel from Oahu to Kauai. If she's successful, she will earn the distinction of being the longest, unaided, nonstop swimmer in the open ocean in history, according to press updates from her support team.

She will be guided by a paddle boarder, a lifeguard and an emergency medical technician, Jeff Kozlovich, who is raising money for the Blue Planet Foundation, and an escort boat.

Hourly updates will be posted at www.kozhawaii.com as long as the support boat has cellphone service.