Lake Michigan Swimmer to Take on 80-Plus-Mile Challenge to Raise Money for US Coast Guard

Jim Dreyer, a long-distance swimmer, arrives at Belle Isle in Detroit, Aug. 7, 2013. Dreyer, who swam across Lake Michigan in 1998, said he's returning 25 years later for a longer splash. Dreyer will attempt to swim at least 82.5 miles (133 kilometers), without getting out of the water, from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, Michigan, beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

By Associated Press

July 18, 2023

GRAND HAVEN—A man who swam across Lake Michigan in 1998 said he’s returning 25 years later for a longer splash.

Jim Dreyer will attempt to swim at least 82.5 miles, without getting out of the water, from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, Michigan, beginning on Aug. 1.

Dreyer, who turns 60 in August, will be raising money for the Chief Petty Officers Association, an independent group that offers a variety of services to enlisted members of the US Coast Guard.

“In conjunction with this milestone swim, I am honored to facilitate a way to give back to these life-saving guardians of Lake Michigan,” Dreyer said in a written statement Monday.

Dreyer, nicknamed “The Shark,” swam from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan, in 1998 without getting out of the water. The 50-mile swim turned into a 65-mile odyssey due to strong currents.

In 2013, Dreyer towed bricks and swam for 51 hours in Lake St. Clair in southeastern Michigan.