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Swimmer Diana Nyad comes out of a thirty year retirement to swim non-stop from Cuba to Florida. Nyad's adventure to life as she sets out to prove that will and determination are all you need to make the unimaginable possible.

THE OTHER SHORE: THE DIANA NYAD STORY follows the 60-year-old legendary athlete as she emerges from a three-decade retirement attempting to become the first person to swim 110-miles (177 Km) non-stop from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. At the edge of The Devil's Triangle, tropical storms, sharks, venomous jellyfish, and one of the strongest ocean currents in the world become life-threatening realities as Diana sets out to prove that will and determination are all you need to make the unimaginable possible. Timothy Wheeler's documentary tracks Diana Nyad's lifetime vision over five harrowing attempts at the Cuba to Florida swim. Her complex past collides with an obsessive present over a 53-hour feat never before accomplished.—Anonymous

Cuba and Florida are separated by 103 miles of vast, dangerous and open ocean, which is home to sharks, jellyfish and brutal currents. Diana Nyad is attempting to be the first to swim across this expanse in 3 to 4 days non-stop. If completed, this would be the greatest endurance feats in history.

Diana Nyad is a world champion and a marathon swimmer, Phi Beta Kappa winner, Linguist, and author. At just 25, she was the best long distance woman swimmer in the world. Nyad in Greek translates to Water Nymph. Nyad has already swam across Lake Ontario, Manhattan Island (28 miles), English Channel (back and forth), Bimini in the Bahamas to Florida (27 hours and 38 mins - first swimmer to challenge the Gulfstream and win). Nyad always wanted to swim from Cuba to Florida before her retirement.

Nyad had an offer to join ABC sports as a sportscaster after her retirement at the age of 30. Before that, in 1978, she made her attempt to complete the Cuba-Florida swim. Nyad was swimming inside a shark cage and the seas were too rough. After battling the elements for 41 hours and 54 mins, Nyad abandons her attempt. She had completed 76 miles out of the total 103.

Nyad retired at the age of 30 and believed that she would never swim another stroke in her life. In February of 2010, Nyad was already 60 years old. She realizes that she had little time left and she was not yet done with her Cuba dream. She started training again with 20 mins sprints in the pool. Within 2 months, she was doing 4 hours. 103 miles requires 60-70 hours.

Nyad consults Candace Hogan her 1978 Cuba swim trainer. The rules are tough, no flotation devices, no sleep during the 60 hours of swimming, no hanging on to the boat, only a bathing cap, goggles, 2 swimsuits and grease to protect the body. She conducts her first ocean training swim in Baja, Mexico for 8 hours. She gives up after 5 hours and 8 mins as her body stopped generating any heat and became stiff.

Nyad father was Greek, but grew up in Egypt. He was a handsome person and a ladies man. He was very passionate about natural beauty and made sure that his kids were also connected to it. Nyad recounts an incident where her father touched her inappropriately between the legs when she was 11 years old. From then on, swimming pool was the only place where Nyad felt safe. Nyad grew up in Florida. At 14, she had the best backstroke in the whole state. Nyad was captain of the coaching team and used to visit her coach's house all the time. One time she slept in his wife's bedroom and the coach came in and sexually assaulted her. Nyad recounts that while her first encounter was violent, her other coaches also sexually assaulted her over the years.

Nyad brings Bonnie Stall, her trainer for the Cuba swim. Bonnie and Nyad have been together for 3 decades. Bonnie was a squash player and they met when Nyad was already retired from swimming. Bonnie became a high-profile trainer for celebrities. Nyad's training requires an enormous number of calories. She starts with beef stew, yogurt, ending with a banana. Her schedule includes a 6-mile run to begin her day, then hours in the pool, followed by hours in the gym on Nautilus machines.

6 months before her Cuba swim, Nyad does her 2nd training swim with a goal of 10 hours. 5 months before Cuba, Nyad goes to St. Maarten for her 3rd practice swim with a goal of 12 hours. The team brings in an electronic shark repellent device. Nyad's team includes handlers Candace and Bonnie who feed and motivate her, navigation team, shark diver team, a kayak team (with electric shark devices on it, a jellyfish team, a weather team, and a medical team. A support team helps all the other teams to do their job. Total crew is over 35 people. Nyad gets sponsors for her swim as the expedition needs money. David Marchant is the navigator.

In 1978, the issue was the timing of the swim due to which the whole team encountered raging seas. With 5 months out, Nyad was in no shape to endure even a 20-hour swim.

3 months before the Cuba swim and the pressure was mounting on Nyad. 89 days before Cuba, Nyad completes a 12-hour training swim and follows it up with a 10-hour swim, 12-hour swim, 15-hour swim (78 days before), 13-hour swim (75 days before) in quick succession. One month before Cuba is the last training swim of 24 hours. The Cuban visas are granted and now the team waits for the right window. It is an unprecedented year of Atlantic hurricanes. The team needs to find 3 days of flat clam, which is very rare. Vanessa Linsley is the fleet captain.

The team shifts to Cuba and picks a spot at the Hemmingway Boat Club to launch Nyad into the waters. Nyad launches her attempt on Aug 7th, 2011 at 7:45 PM. After 10 hours, 85 miles to go, 12 hours, and 79 miles to go. Nyad comes in for feeding every 90 minutes, for 3-4 minutes. At 18 hours, 69 miles to go and Nyad starts feeling pain in her shoulders and legs. Michael Broder is brought in to diagnose. Nyad has had an asthma attack and Michael gives her an inhaler to keep her going. Due to the frequent stops Nyad gets off course. 24 hours and 63 miles to go. With every stop, the drift off course is getting worse. Nyad abandons her attempt at 29 hour, with 57 miles to go. Nyad cannot imagine keeping the team together for another year for another attempt.

Within 2 weeks, Nyad feels differently and believes that she has it in her to attempt yet again. Nyad launches her next attempt on Sep 23rd, 2011. Within the first few hours, she is stung by the box jellyfish, the most venomous creatures found in the waters off Cuba. They cause respiratory failure, heart attack and death within 2-3 minutes. Nyad fights through the pain, but continues to swim as the venom subsides. Hour 16 and 65 miles to go, Hour 21 and 52 miles to go, Hour 26 and 40 miles to go. She has another jellyfish attack and this is when she has to be pulled out of the water. The crew changes the swim from a continuous swim to a staged swim by putting her back into the water at the point where they picked her up. Nyad decides to go back into the water. At Hour 36, it is still 45 miles to go. Due to the jellyfish venom, Nyad cannot maintain even 40% of the required pace and the team is being swept away by the ocean current towards the Bahamas. Bonnie knows that the current attempt is over. Nyad pulls out of the water with 54 miles to go.

On Aug 18th, 2012, Nyad made her 3rd attempt and ran into a hurricane and was pulled out after 51 hours and 70 miles. In 2013, Nyad completes her swim on her 5th attempt.