I am excited to participate in the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim the week before my 60th Birthday! I went to college at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie in 1983 and spent much time hanging out at the Soo Locks. I've spend countless hours on the shores of Lake Superior camping, hiking, backpacking and swimming. Lake Superior is my Mother lake, I feel most whole in her presence. I've always been fascinated with the enormous freighters that traverse the Great Lakes and the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald has always captured my imagination. I am thrilled to be able to participate in this event to help fundraise to support the much needed renovations of the Whitefish Point Lighthouse. I've included additional information from their website:
Whitefish Point Light Station is located at the extreme southeastern end of Lake Superior. It is a critical turning point for all vessel traffic entering and leaving this largest of all the Great Lakes. The Whitefish Point Light Station was established by Congress in 1849; since then, a life-saving beacon has illuminated these dangerous waters for mariners continuously. Today, the Whitefish Point Light is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. The present light tower was constructed in 1861 during Abraham Lincoln’s administration.
Whitefish Point marks the eastern end of a notorious 80-mile stretch of shoreline from here west to Munising, Michigan, known ominously as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast. Of the 550 known major shipwrecks lying on the bottom of the lake, at least 200 of them are in the vicinity of Whitefish Point. The primary causes of shipwrecks here are stress of weather and collision; the 1975 loss of the steamer Edmund Fitzgerald with her entire crew of 29 has become a world-wide legend. The wreck of the Fitzgerald lies just 15 miles northwest of Whitefish Point.
After several years of participating in the Mackinac Island Relay Swims, I am excited to join a group of my beautiful swimming friends to swim up to the Soo Locks. After a boat ride through, we will swim to Sault Ste. Marie before the next relay team heads out. I am grateful to be a part of this amazing experience!
Thank you for supporting me in this historic, once-in-a-lifetime adventure that will carry on the legacy of the 29 men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald 50 years ago. By helping me meet my fundraising goal, you are also helping renovate the Whitefish Point Lighthouse that safeguards mariners along Lake Superior's "Shipwreck Coast."
