Jim 'The Shark' Dreyer makes another Lake Michigan attempt
UPDATE: Dreyer was pulled from the water and announced he was "safe on dry land" in Wisconsin around 1 a.m. Wednesday.
GRAND HAVEN — Though many chose to relax on Labor Day, Jim “The Shark” Dreyer decided to revive his attempt to swim across Lake Michigan.
The 60-year-old began his attempt in the late afternoon hours of Monday, Sept. 4. His launching point was Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his destination is Grand Haven, Michigan. Since beginning, he's veered north quite a ways, according to an online tracker around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. At that time, he'd yet to reach the halfway point.
Dreyer, who last attempted the swim in August, introduced one further plot twist for Monday's event when he announced he’d swim the 82.5 miles alone, without an escort boat along.
“Swimming self-sufficiently is a different type of quest than an escorted swim,” Dreyer wrote in a press release. He’s pulling a 10-foot dinghy from his waist, towing along 225 pounds’ worth of supplies.
Entitled “Lake Michigan: The Silver Sequel,” this expedition marks the quarter-century anniversary of Dreyer’s first record-setting swim across Lake Michigan in 1998, when he swam from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Ludington. He then became, and now remains, the first and only person to swim the lake between the two states.
This year, he wants to beat his own record by swimming 25 miles further. He first attempted the swim on Aug. 1 and aborted the quest 10 miles east of Milwaukee when worsening lake conditions swept him and his escort boat off course.
“I'm not good at walking away from a goal before achieving it,” Dreyer said. “While the safety net of having my professional support team with me on the water is definitely preferred, there are times, in certain conditions, where I stand a better chance on beating the elements alone without concerns related to the escort boat.
"There is only time for one more attempt this summer, and I do not want to risk the chance of what occurred last time happening again.”
Dreyer first learned to swim at 32, overcoming a lifelong fear of open water after a childhood near-drowning incident, according to his website.
Since then, he’s gone on to swim across all five of the Great Lakes. In 2005, he completed the crossing of his fifth Great Lake when he swam alone across Lake Superior, between the United States and Canada — all while towing 325 pounds of supplies from his waist.
Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage
Though his quest may sound in most ways extraordinary, Dreyer said it’s well-calculated and within his reach.
“I am well trained for this and have calculated my risks,” Dreyer said. “I want to inspire others that one can control fear and achieve extraordinary goals through perseverance and fortitude. I do not want to encourage recklessness.”
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Jim 'The Shark' Dreyer makes another Lake Michigan attempt
