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 preserve the Whitefish Point Lighthouse that safeguards mariners along Lake Superior's "Shipwreck Coast."
So why am I participating in this historic 411 mile swim? Short answer - I love swimming and I love Michigan. My grandfather worked on a freighter on the Great Lakes briefly following his return from WWII. He shared his love of history and of our great state. I visited the Ship Wreck Museum at Whitefish Point when I was young and returned as an adult with my kids. We grew up listening to Gordon Lightfoot's song about the Edmond Fitzgerald. I grew up traveling to state parks all around the state of Michigan and love our great state. Swimming has been a huge part of my life from the time I was young until now. I was a high school state champion in the 50 Free, swam in college at Eastern Michigan University and have swum as a US Masters Swimmer since then. When I was younger, I swam in the pool competitions and over the years have moved into longer events in the pool and then longer events in the open water. HS and college I swam sprints and went to YMCA and Masters Nationals competing in freestyle and butterfly sprints as well as backstoke (which I never swam previously). I liked it because I could get personal bests in events because I had never swum them before. I then tried longer and longer events for the same reason. I've made Long Distance All-American in Masters swimming competing in the 5K, 10K, 3000yd, 6000yd postal events as well as open water national championship events. My best and hardest was 2009 when the 10K open water National Championship was in Harbor Springs and I won my age group that year. More recently I swam around Mackinaw Island a few years ago and still have the Mackinac Bridge swim on my bucket list. My part in this swim will be Stage 8 that will be completed August 9-11, 2025 and runs from Presque Isle Beach to Thunder Bay Island. There are 4 swimmers in my stage that will rotate every 30 minutes until the distance is completed.
This Edmond Fitzgerald Memorial Swim is my motivation to get back in shape with a year to prepare and raise money for the event. All funds raised will go to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society earmarked for restoration of the Whitefish Point Lighthouse. The swim includes 68 swimmers and countless volunteers that will symbolically finish the route of the Edmond Fitzgerald starting where is sank in Lake Superior. Traveling 17 miles to Whitefish Point and then all the way to Belle Isle Beach, then a march to Mariners Church in downtown Detroit for a memorial service. Plans are to film the swim as part of a documentary to be released November 10th 2025 at the 50th Anniversary of the loss of the Edmond Fitzgerald and it's 29 crew members at a ceremony at Whitefish Point. If you have the means, I encourage you to support with a donation. I also ask for you to share the information with others so they have the opportunity to learn about this historic endeavor.
