GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — An ultra swimmer is again attempting to cross Lake Michigan, from Michigan to Wisconsin, just a few weeks later problems with a GPS unit forced him to give up after 60 miles (96 kilometers).
Jim Dreyer set out after 6pm on Monday in Grand Haven. He said the trip to Milwaukee would cover at least 80 miles (128 kilometers) in water and take 72 hours or more without sleep.
Dreyer, 61, will also tow a small inflatable boat with supplies.
“Sorry for the last minute announcement, but chaos is often part of this open water swimming game,” he said said on Facebook at the same time I posted “Here I Go Again,” a 1987 power ballad video by Whitesnake.
His progress may be tracked online.
Dreyer, who calls himself The Shark, crossed Lake Michigan in 1998, starting in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and ending in Ludington, Michigan. But three attempts to do so again have failed since 2023.
His final attempt began on August 6. The next day he took a break to get new AA batteries to keep a GPS unit running. But in the process, Dreyer said he somehow dropped the bag into the lake.
He only had a compass and nature to help him try to keep moving west. But Dreyer ended up swimming north instead, burning precious time and adding more miles as the risky weather approached. A support team pulled him from Lake Michigan on August 8.
“What a blow!” Dreyer said.