Jim The Shark Dreyer fails in attempt to swim across Lake Michigan for 2nd time WSOC TV

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. The Shark was no match for Lake Michigan this time. >> Read more trending news Jim Dreyer, nicknamed The Shark, came up short in his Labor Day attempt to swim the width of Lake Michigan from Wisconsin to Michigan, WLNS-TV reported. Dreyer, 60, had to call off his swim 30 miles

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — “The Shark” was no match for Lake Michigan this time.

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Jim Dreyer, nicknamed “The Shark,” came up short in his Labor Day attempt to swim the width of Lake Michigan from Wisconsin to Michigan, WLNS-TV reported. Dreyer, 60, had to call off his swim 30 miles out from Milwaukee when he encountered 8-foot waves, according to the television station.

The marathon swim was intended to mark the 25th anniversary of Dreyer’s first crossing of Lake Michigan, and he declared that he was going to swim 25 miles farther -- or 82.5 miles -- without an escort boat, the Holland Sentinel reported.

In 1998, Dreyer swam from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan. This year, Dreyer left Bradford Beach in Milwaukee for Grand Haven City Beach in his Michigan hometown, according to his website.

His goal was shattered this year, but Dreyer was not discouraged after he had to give up. He was pulling a 10-foot dinghy from his waist and towing 225 pounds worth of supplies, the Sentinel reported.

“It was a 25-hour beatdown, but I did not call for rescue. Dreyer wrote in a Saturday news release. “Lake Michigan landed a flurry of punches, but I can take a punch and I was still in the fight.”

It was the second time this summer that Dreyer had attempted to swim the width of the Great Lake. He gave it a try on Aug. 1 but aborted the swim 10 miles east of Milwaukee when deteriorating conditions in the lake swept him and his escort boat more than 2 miles off course, WLNS reported.

According to the website that tracked his progress, Dreyer stopped at about 6:30 p.m. CDT on Sept. 5, according to WTMJ-TV.

Dreyer learned how to swim when he was 32, overcoming a lifelong fear of open waters after nearly drowning as a child, according to his website. Since then, Dreyer has managed to swim across all five of the Great Lakes.

“While I am very disappointed this swim ended as it did, I am more confident than ever that I can do this,” Dreyer said in his news release. “I really wanted to get it done this year, but am out of time. I have other plans for 2024, but somehow, I believe I will find a way to juggle everything and get it done.”

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