The first day of an unprecedented attempt to swim in relays across the Taiwan Straits didn’t go without a hitch, as some of the swimmers were attacked by jellyfish, according to Voice of China on Aug 19.

14 participants, 7 each from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, are making the attempt to swim across the Straits, which will be the first time in history.

The entire course distance, from Hsinchu in Taiwan to Pingtan in Fujian province, is around 200 - 250 kilometers and could take 72 hours to finish.

The relay swim started at noon on Aug 18, with each player taking a three-hour shift.

Although all of them are equipped with shark repellent, three of the four swimmers on the first day were attacked by jellyfish to a greater or lesser extent. Luo Jun from Taiwan had his neck stung by the creatures.

Zhang Jie, a former national swimming team member, picked up the fourth shift at around 10 pm. She was expected to swim all night till 5 am on Aug 19.

Organizers had increased their security efforts of escorting the swimmers at night. Staffers in rubber dinghies and on jetskis used fishing nets to pull away the jellyfish in the water.