An Irish swimmer will swim through the night in his bid to make a world record solo swim from Holyhead to Dublin.
Dubliner Feilim O'Maoláin was around 16 miles out from the Welsh coast at 5pm and at that stage had between 38 and 40 miles left before he reaches shore.
O'Maoláin, who took on the swim to help fund a homeless charity, is expected to arrive in Dublin some time between 10 and 11pm tomorrow night.
The swimmer dived into the Irish Sea off Holyhead at 12.48am, three hours later than expected, to begin the gruelling 45-hour journey.
A spokesman said: "The latest news from the boat travelling beside Feilim is that he is in good shape and still going strong in the open water. He started slower than expected but has made up some time and is on target."
O'Maoláin is doing the 56-mile swim without fins or a wetsuit - he is wearing just swimming togs, swim hat and goggles.
He has never completed such a distance before, but did complete a swim across the English Channel in a time of 24 hours in 1998. Last week he completed two separate 10-mile challenges to prepare him for the Irish Sea swim.
A 30-foot boat is accompanying O'Maoláin on his journey in case he gets into difficulty, but at no time can he touch the vessel or anyone on it.
The team includes an observer, pilot, skipper, paramedic and feeder. The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association will ratify the swim.
If O'Maoláin completes the swim successfully, he will raise several thousand euro for the Capuchin Day Centre, which supplies food and shelter to homeless people in Dublin.
His progress can be charted on www.homeless.ie