Nyad (2023)

Rhys Ifans: John Bartlett

Photos 

Quotes 

• John Bartlett : Step outside with me for a minute. Stick out your tongue. Stick out your tongue.

  [Diana sticks out her tongue] 

  John Bartlett : You taste that?

  Diana Nyad : I don't know, salt?

  John Bartlett : No. Sand from the Sahara, 7,000 miles away. That's what this wind'll do.

• Diana Nyad : My last navigator screwed me, okay? He had me slamming into the surf for 14 hours straight. I would've made it if he hadn't...

  John Bartlett : Well, that's on you. I looked him up, your old navigator from '78. America's Cup preppy asshole who didn't know shit about the Straits. You can have all the pedigree in the world, but if you haven't sailed here, if you haven't put in your 10,000 hours, these counter-currents, these eddies, it's like getting a freaking horse trainer to install your dishwasher.

• John Bartlett : The Gulf Stream's a raging dick. It's basically a fast-moving river in the middle of the ocean, going east when you wanna go north. If you're not exceeding its speed, then...

  Diana Nyad : You're going backwards. Yes, I know.

• John Bartlett : I used to watch you on the Wide World of Sports.

  Diana Nyad : Oh yeah? 'Thrill of victory, agony of defeat,' and all that shit?

• John Bartlett : What you wanna do has never been done, right? The course must be exact. The axis of the stream has to be calculated by someone who knows what the hell they're dealing with, so the stream will work for you, not against you, recomputing every 15 minutes. You're off a fraction of a degree to the east, you're headed to the Turks and Caicos, a fraction to the west, Texas, or worse, you're spun into an eddy. So choose the wrong dude again. No biggie. It just might cost you your life.

• Diana Nyad : Nice boat.

  John Bartlett : I designed her myself. I had to re-draw the lines plans, like, 76 times. My wife thought I was freaking out of my mind, but she's perfect.

  Diana Nyad : Your wife or your boat?

  John Bartlett : Both of 'em.

• John Bartlett : Low expectations are the key to happiness.