Courtesy: Jim Dreyer/Event Marketing Enterprises
(Grand Haven, Michigan) – Jim “The Shark” Dreyer announced today that he aims to finish what he started last summer and make another attempt to swim alone across Lake Michigan. This self-sufficient journey, planned to begin on August 6, 2024 (weather permitting), will require him to tow over 200 pounds of supplies and do his own navigating. He must find his way 82.9 miles from McKinley Beach in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to City Beach in Grand Haven, Michigan.
“This announcement should come as no surprise,” Dreyer said. “Anyone who knows me expects that I will not walk away from a goal before it is accomplished.”
Dreyer made two attempts to complete this swim last summer. The swim, entitled Lake Michigan – The Silver Sequel, was to mark the 25th anniversary of his first swim across Lake Michigan in 1998, which launched his career as a record-setting athlete.
In that Two Rivers, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan swim, he became the first and only person to successfully swim the width of Lake Michigan between the two states. Twenty-five years later in 2023, and turning 60 years of age, Dreyer’s plan was to mark these milestones by taking a different route across the lake that would have him swimming 25 miles further.
Dreyer was escorted by a boat in his first attempt, just as he was in his 1998 swim, and it was the boat continuously getting swept further off course in worsening lake conditions that caused the swim to be aborted after just over 12 miles.
To avoid the possibility of facing those same issues again, Dreyer made a second attempt, swimming self-sufficiently. Instead of following a boat, he towed a boat – an inflatable supply dinghy carrying 225 pounds of supplies. About 27 miles into the swim, with conditions worsening, a rescue crew pulled Dreyer from the water after his supply dinghy was torn apart at the seams from facing over 25 hours of 8-foot waves.
Attempting again in 2024 to swim self-sufficiently and raise the bar on his own Lake Michigan record, Dreyer estimates that with currents, the distance of this swim could be 90 miles or more. He expects the crossing, with supplies in tow, to take more than 72 continuous hours without sleep.
“I hope followers of the swim support my cause, which is the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chief Petty Officers Association,” Dreyer said. “Donations support the Lake Michigan guardians on both shores who have stood by me for the past 25 years and kept so many safe in these often-treacherous waters.”
“It would be fitting to finish in ‘Coast Guard City USA’ (Grand Haven, Michigan), and while that is the plan, it is extremely difficult to guess where the currents could take me, and where and when I may land in Michigan.”
Swimming alone across Lake Michigan requires special equipment and strategic partnerships.
“For self-navigating, I have once again partnered with Vuzix Smart Swim,” Dreyer said. “Their amazing cutting-edge technology provides GPS mapping right on my goggles, which is tremendously important when I cannot see shore in any direction.”
“To oversee all safety logistics, I have partnered with worldwide crisis management specialists, Raven Strategic Group. My Raven team will be stationed in Milwaukee with a rescue boat until I am in Michigan waters; then they will cross over to Michigan and await my arrival. I will have satellite communications with them should an emergency occur, and they will track me down wherever I may land in Michigan.”
“Even with all the extensive training and planning, I understand the inherent dangers of this self-sufficient swim,” Dreyer added. “I hope this calculated risk captures the imaginations of adventurous souls everywhere, as I find my way across the seemingly endless expanse of Lake Michigan. In doing so, I also hope to encourage those trying to find their own way in life to put their trust in God.”
Dreyer is determined to successfully complete his quest this summer.
“I have to get it done this summer,” Dreyer said. “Next summer, I will be directing the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I am dedicated to that event and film project.”
To track Jim “The Shark” Dreyer’s progress in his self-sufficient crossing of Lake Michigan in near real time, and to make tax-deductible donations to the USCG Chief Petty Officers Association, you may go online to www.JimTheSharkDreyer.com.