November 10th, 2025, will mark 50 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm.

And it was on the 30th anniversary that Jim Dreyer had an idea to do a memorial swim for the 50th.

So the Grand Haven, Michigan man is coordinating the event, which is planned for the end of July, 2025.

Dreyer himself has swam across all five Great Lakes. He described moments of it for us. “It’s like being on another planet. You can’t see the shore in any direction.”

This Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim will be an opportunity for 68 swimmers to participate in one of 17 different legs, relay style.

“We will have a support boat, a U.S. Coast Guard licensed charter, with a captain, first mate, and paramedic. I’ll be your rescue swimmer on board. It’s a 411 mile route, broken into 17 stages. And we’re doing it half an hour at a time. So you swim, and then you get an hour and a half in the boat while your teammates swim,” he said.

It’s also a fundraiser to help restore the Whitefish Point Light Station.

Registration opens on June 10th: https://www.edmundfitzgeraldswim.org/to-participate