61-year-old swimmer known as "The Shark" will try again to cross Lake Michigan
An ultra swimmer said he again will try to cross Lake Michigan, from Michigan to Wisconsin, just a few weeks after trouble with a GPS device forced him to give up after 60 miles.
Jim Dreyer said he would set off early Monday evening in Grand Haven. He said the journey to Milwaukee would cover at least 80 miles in the water and last 72 hours or more.
Dreyer, 61, will also be towing a small inflatable boat with supplies.
"Sorry for the last-minute notice, but chaos is often part of this open water swimming game," he said on Facebook while also posting "Here I Go Again," a 1987 power ballad video by Whitesnake.
Dreyer, who calls himself The Shark, crossed Lake Michigan in 1998, starting in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and finishing in Ludington, Michigan. But three attempts to do it again since 2023 have been unsuccessful.
His last effort began on Aug. 6. The next day, he paused to get fresh AA batteries to keep a GPS device working. But during the process, Dreyer said he somehow lost the bag in the lake.
He had only 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 risky weather approached.
Dreyer said his "brain was mush" and he was having hallucinations about a steel wall — "stuck my hand right through it" — and cargo ships. He figured he would need a few more days to reach Milwaukee, but there was a forecast of 9-foot waves.
A support crew pulled him out of Lake Michigan on Aug. 8.
"What a blow!" Dreyer said at the time. "It was an accident, but it was my fault. This is a tough pill to swallow."
His progress can be tracked online.
