GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WXMI) — Jim “The Shark” Dreyer has already conquered several records by swimming in open water, and this week, he plans to swim across Lake Michigan.
“My greatest fear in life was the open water, and now, it’s the playing field for my sport,” Dreyer said. “I know the dangers, and I’m willing to take them, but please, please, I mean, respect these lakes. Humankind at its best will never beat Mother Nature at its worst.”
Dreyer took off Tuesday morning from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and plans to swim all the way to his home of Grand Haven.
“It’s going to be around a 90-mile swim, and I expect it’s going to take 60-plus hours,” Dreyer told FOX 17. “I’ve got a great crew with me, though. I mean, they’re the best.”
Dreyer already swam across each of the five Great Lakes before.
Related: Lake Michigan marathon swimmer returning to fundraise, aims to swim more than 80 miles
“The biggest challenge was Lake Superior, not a surprise. We attempted it five times and five times, we fell short,” he explained. “So, finally I decided on the sixth attempt, I’m just going to hook up 325 pounds of supplies to my waist in a day.”
The soon-to-be-60-year-old says he’s always on the move now, but his journey to become a powerhouse swimmer started a little later in life.
“I nearly drowned when I was a kid, 3 years old. My sister found me floating facedown in the water at our family’s cottage, pulled me out of the water,” he said. “Finally, in ’96 when I was 32 years old, I decided to take beginner swimming lessons.”
After triumphing over his fear, Dreyer became an ultra-marathon swimmer. Comic book legend Stan Lee even called him “superhuman.”
“You get wiser with age. As far as how I’m conditioned, I feel ramping up to my peak training swims, I ramped up quicker than I ever ramped up in my life. I mean, I did 16 miles, 20 miles, 25-, 30-, 40- and 42-mile swims all days apart leading up to my peak,” he explained. “This was after I pulled a ton of bricks 22 miles across Lake St. Clair to Detroit in an effort we called ‘Rebuild Michigan’ after Detroit filed bankruptcy.”
This time around, Dreyer is raising money for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chief Petty Officers Association.
Click here to donate and here to follow along with Dreyer on his journey across Lake Michigan.
