To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior, 68 open water swimmers plan to embark on a journey to complete the ship’s voyage later this month.
The swimmers will be swimming a relay that covers the route from the site of the shipwreck to Detroit, where the Edmund Fitzgerald was supposed to arrive, making up the last 411 miles of its journey.
The month-long swim has been organized by Jim Dreyer. Dreyer gained his nickname, “The Shark,” after swimming across all five Great Lakes, he said.
Dreyer said he understands some of the dangers mariners face.
“I've always felt an affinity with mariners. I have had a few near-death experiences out there myself, and so I feel like I can relate to the perils that the Mariners face out there,” Dreyer said.
For this swim, Dreyer has taken a behind-the-scenes approach, letting several small groups of open water swimmers take on the distance. Starting July 26, a group of four new swimmers will reach one of 17 checkpoints each day. Each person will swim for 30 minutes, then follow along on a boat while their teammates swim, repeating this process until the checkpoint is reached. Each distance ranges from 17 to 35 miles.
Tammy Lenarz-Carruth is one of the four kicking off the first stage of the swim starting in Lake Superior. She grew up in Minnesota and has been swimming in lakes since she was a kid.
“I like cold water, long-distance swimming,” she said. “But for me, the number one reason that I want to do this is in memory of the 29 mariners that died on the Edmund Fitzgerald. I just feel it's important not to forget them,” she added.
Lenarz-Carruth decided to participate in this swim after connecting with the siblings of Paul Riippa. He was a deckhand who died after the ship capsized in a storm.
“They just want to keep their brother's name and his memory alive,” she said.
Part of the symbolism in completing the mariners’ journey will be delivering iron ore pellets to Detroit’s mayor, Mike Duggan. The Edmund Fitzgerald was carrying 26,000 tons of iron ore while on its way to Detroit.
“When Mayor Duggan receives that iron ore, it's kind of like mission complete,” Dreyer said.
Once everyone arrives in Detroit, the Mariners Church in downtown will hold a memorial service. There, the church bell will be rung 29 times for each mariner, just as it was 50 years ago after the tragedy.
“It's a lot of symbolism and it's going to be very moving,” Dreyer said.
While remembering the lives of the mariners was Dreyer's primary purpose for organizing this event, he said, he also wanted to raise money for the Whitefish Point Lighthouse in Lake Superior.
Whitefish Point is the oldest operating lighthouse in Lake Superior, and it went dark the day the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
“You can imagine, in the raging storm, there were 30- to 40-foot waves on Lake Superior, and they took the radar off the top of the ship. In that storm, the lighthouse lost power. That is the lighthouse that we're preserving,” Dreyer said.
Each swimmer has been raising money for the lighthouse. So far, they have reached $188,000, exceeding their goal of $170,000.
Overall, the swimmers said they're looking forward to the contributing to the 50-year memorial.
“I’m a little bit afraid of the open seas, but the Great Lakes to me are amazing,” Lenarz-Carruth said. “They’re in our backyard, we're so lucky to be here.”
Dreyer said he hopes this will inspire people to learn more about the Great Lakes and the history of shipwrecks.
“I really want people to understand the perils that these mariners face out there,” he said. “The most important thing is remembering the 29 men who died aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald. That's what this is all about.”
