Dreyer succumbs to ‘flurry of punches’ from Lake Michigan

GRAND HAVEN — Jim Dreyer recounted his latest attempt to swim across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, calling the episode a “25-hour beatdown.”

Dreyer, 60, departed Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 4. He swam alone, pulling a dinghy behind him.

He was immediately greeted by 3- to 5-foot waves. About five miles offshore, those grew to 6- to 8-foot waves, pushing Dreyer off course.

“Lake Michigan landed a flurry of punches, but I can take a punch and was still in the fight,” Dreyer said.

But he couldn't swim east.

“I couldn't make much progress when trying to stay on course by swimming directly east. The best I could do was swim northeast,” Dreyer said. “Even then, I was making much more progress getting off course to the north than progressing east toward Michigan. I wanted to persevere long enough for conditions to change so I could begin heading directly east.”

But that never happened, and Dreyer’s support team eventually ventured into the lake to check his status.

“My team was constantly vigilant while working tirelessly with each other on both sides of the lake, and with Coast Guard Station Milwaukee,” Dreyer said. “The consensus was these were the roughest conditions any of my team’s boats could endure, and conditions would get worse, as 10- to 12-foot waves were forecasted for the next two days. I was informed that if I turned down this rescue and needed rescue later, it would be left to the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Once on-site, the crew discovered Dreyer’s supply dinghy had also taken a beating. It was coming apart at the seams.

“I noticed my dinghy was taking on a lot of water and discovered the keel and floor was being torn away by the force of the waves,” Dreyer said. “I dove under the pitching dinghy and wrapped bungee cords around the craft, cinching them up the best I could.  This was just a Band-Aid, and I was pulling a significant amount of additional weight from the incoming water.  The rips kept getting larger, and I was racing time to keep from losing my supplies.”

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Those factors led Dreyer to reluctantly abandon his swim.

Dreyer was pulled from the water around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6. He was 14.2 miles off the coast and 18.5 off course to the north. He'd logged 26.7 miles in 25 hours and 38 minutes.

“I am swimming to support the Coast Guard’s Chief Petty Officers’ Association, not lean on them for rescue and spend taxpayers' money. That's the last thing I wanted to do,” Dreyer said. “My supply dinghy was on borrowed time, and with worsening conditions for a prolonged period, I was in real danger of losing my supplies."

Dreyer remains the lone person ever to swim the width of Lake Michigan between Wisconsin and Michigan. In this swim, he was attempting to complete a mid-lake crossing, completing the 82.5-miles between Milwaukee and Grand Haven. The course is 25 miles longer than his first crossing 25 years ago.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Dreyer succumbs to ‘flurry of punches’ from Lake Michigan