ELEUTHERA, Bahamas - Chloe McCardel an Australian endurance athlete this morning began her world-record attempt at swimming 128-kilometer (about 80-miles) in the open waters of the Bahamas.

She left from the island of Eleuthera and hopes to finish some 48 hours later in Nassau.

"Everyone at the Island School have been amazing!" the 29-year-old athlete from Melbourne wrote on her Facebook page.  "Teaching and non - teaching staff, interns, students! Look what the students made Me!" she wrote about a good luck sign created for her departure by local students. "Thanks for everyone's great wishes!!! X watch channel 7 in Australia for updates follow us GPS tracker for location updates every 10 min."

McCardel is making the solo attempt under Marathon Swimmers Federation rules, which means she can't intentionally touch her support boat or hold on to anything.

McCardel trained last year in the Bahamas before her Cuba Florida attempt. During that swim from Cuba to Florida McCardel had to give up her attempt after 11 hours and 14 miles due to painful jellyfish stings. She swam across the English Channel 7 times.

Before her departure this morning in Eleuthera, Bahamas