KILAUEA, Kauai » An Australian married couple, both long-distance swimmers, are footloose on Kauai after two separate Hawaii swims in different channels.

After a brutal stinging by hordes of Portuguese men-of-war just before dusk on Saturday, Penny Palfrey pulled out of her attempted 72-mile swim of the Kaieiewaho Channel between Oahu and Kauai with hours left to go to achieve her goal.

“;I'm still suffering,”; she said by phone.

Don Jones of Captain Don's Kauai Sport Fishing and Ocean Adventure, based in Nawiliwili Harbor, provided an escort boat for Palfrey. Jeff Kozlovich, her personal trainer, and long-distance swimmer Bill Goding spelled each other, paddling next to her.

“;She tried swimming across, starting about 8:05 yesterday morning (Saturday), and stopped about 8 p.m.-ish, when she ran into the Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish,”; said Jones. “;It was kind of spooky. They got her all over the arms and legs.

“;She was shaking from the pain. She—and we at the boat—made the decision that safety is the first thing. Thirty minutes prior to that, she was swimming strong and like a champ. There was a highly good chance she could have made it within a 24- to 27-hour time frame.”;

Jones said there are no records of anyone swimming across the channel.

“;I'd have to say it's like walking up Everest,”; he added.

Palfrey's husband, Chris, swimming at the same time, crossed the Kaiwi Channel between Molokai and Oahu in 12 hours, 53 seconds, breaking the record by 20 minutes.

The couple plans to relax for a few days and spend some time on the North Shore.