Her body covered with bright red welts, Australian ocean endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey yesterday said Portuguese man-of-wars again foiled her attempt to become the first person to swim from Oahu to Kauai, but she did not rule out a third attempt if she can figure a way to keep the stinging creatures at bay.

"It was like man-of-war jellyfish soup out there," said Palfrey, a 48-year-old grandmother.

Palfrey left Kaena Point at 10:52 a.m. Tuesday and had been in the water about eight hours when she called off the effort after 17 miles. She had hoped to complete the 72-mile channel swim in 30 to 40 hours.

At a news conference yesterday in Waikiki, Palfrey maintained a smile while describing her bout of "shaking, convulsing and vomiting" after the stings.

Palfrey said she felt "a lot of disappointment" but was not upset.

"I knew I had given it my all. I did the best that I could."

Her adviser, Steve Munatones, described Palfrey as "one of our sport’s stars" — a legendary marathon swimmer who already has crossed the English Channel, Cook Strait in New Zealand and others challenging waterways.

Her previous attempt in April ended after 12 hours, also because of man-of-war stings.

Palfrey thought that her previous experience might have been a one-time thing or related to the phase of the moon.

She described the first stings as a "scalding hit," followed by a burning sensation that turned to a prickling feeling.

"It was quite a shock to get hit in your face," she said. "It feels like it’s in your eyes, but I had goggles on."

After the fourth sting, she stopped counting.

"In the end, it was sting after sting," she said.

Yesterday, Palfrey removed her T-shirt to reveal her arms and back covered in bright red veinlike lines and welts where venomous tentacles had wrapped around her.

Had she worn a full wet suit, Palfrey would have violated channel-swimming rules, which generally allow only a standard swimsuit, goggles and cap.

But after being stung many times in April, Palfrey said she decided to wear a suit that covered her legs down to her knees.

She was advised to swim in September for optimal, flat conditions, but had a prior engagement. Instead, she had to maneuver through 3- to 5-foot swells with chop, but maintained a 3 mph pace that would have given her a 27-hour finish time.

Palfrey has plans for channel crossings, but each try comes at an out-of-pocket expense of $10,000 to $20,000 because she has no sponsors.