Photo above shows the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in St. Mary’s River, 1975. Photo: Bob Campbell
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald , 68 open water swimmers will participate in a 17-stage, 661 km relay swim, starting from above the shipwreck in Lake Superior, and finishing in Detroit, the ship’s destination. The swimmers aim to symbolically complete the Edmund Fitzgerald’s final journey as a tribute to the 29 crew members who perished.
The Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim, is scheduled to begin on July 26th, and will be the subject of a documentary film entitled The Legend Lives On.
The 729-foot S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was bound for Detroit carrying over 26,000 long tons of iron ore when the ship went down in a violent Lake Superior storm on November 10th 1975, taking the lives of all 29 crew members aboard. The ship lies in Canadian waters, 27 km north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Over the course of more than a month, 17 teams of 4 relay swimmers endeavor to cover the distance of 661 km to deliver iron ore pellets to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. The pellets are from the same dock in Superior, Wisconsin, where the ship was loaded for the last time.
The event is being organized by Jim Dreyer. “This special group of swimmers are dedicated to meeting the physical challenge of making it to Detroit for the 29 souls lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald while they were en route to Detroit 50 years ago. This team is driven by a dual mission to preserve the memory of those who died while also preserving the Whitefish Point Light Station to safeguard mariners of today and tomorrow.”
To date, we have raised over US$187,000 toward our mission.”
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society is the event’s official beneficiary and is charged with preserving the civil war era lighthouse, a most important beacon to all ships entering and exiting Lake Superior.
Brian VanderHoff, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is swimming stage 10 from Sturgeon Point to Au Sable in Lake Huron, and was the event’s top fundraiser, raising nearly US$9,000. “The Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim is important to me because it commemorates the 29 lives lost in 1975 in Lake Superior. Although I was young at the time, I learned about the wreck listening to Gordon Lightfoot’s song ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ throughout my life. I thought raising funds for the Whitefish Point Lighthouse as part of the swim was a great way to give back to the community as well as Michigan history.”
Tammy Lenarz-Carruth, a swimmer from Montevideo, Minnesota, has developed a special bond with family members of Paul M. Riippa, an Edmund Fitzgerald deck hand from Ashtabula, Ohio, who was a college football player and just 22 when the ship went down. “I feel very honored to swim in memory of Paul Riippa who was just starting his life when he died on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Being able to communicate with the Riippa family has been very meaningful and real to me. It has been heartwarming to learn what kind of person Paul was and what his life was like in 1975. Paul’s older sister Elaine Sespico describes him as a fine, young, athletic, Christian man. He was honest, dependable, loving, and intelligent.
Being able to swim in Paul’s memory has brought the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim even more to life than it already is … and there are 28 more lives with their own stories. Paul’s life was cut short, but not forgotten. I will think of Paul, his 28 crewmates and the Riippa family as I swim with my team, in stage 2, crossing Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior.“
The first 4 relay swimmers starting at the wreck site are Joe Barr, Daniel Chaffin, Dennis Crumpler, and Cat Murdock. This foursome will participate in a memorial ceremony above the wreck while a memorial service is held simultaneously for family members of the crew at Whitefish Point.
The 4 relay swimmers finishing the swim at the Detroit Yacht Club, include Melissa DeLuka, Tracie Baker, Maddie Diedo, and Barry Alper complete the foursome that will deliver the iron ore carried by the team from Lake Superior.
The iron ore is planned to be presented to the Detroit Mayor during the Mariners’ Memorial Service at the Mariners’ Church of Detroit on August 28th, the day after the swim is completed. In the service, the church bell will be rung 29 times for each crew member of the Edmund Fitzgerald, just as it was 50 years ago and as described in Gordon Lightfoot’s Grammy-nominated song.
The Reverend Todd Meyer, Pastor of the Mariners Church, will officiate both memorial services. “The history of Mariners’ Church is forever intertwined with the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald. We are honored to offer a spiritual perspective at both the start and finish of this endurance swim. These memorial services will serve as meaningful bookends to an epic tribute—honoring not only the Fitzgerald’s crew, but all sailors lost throughout the maritime history of the Great Lakes.”
Dreyer says there may still be opportunities for others to join in the swim. “I am truly honored to be directing this historic and meaningful event. I would like to invite others who would be honored to swim to join our waitlist. You never know what might happen and we could call on you.”
To learn more about the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim and to donate in support of the lighthouse preservation, please log on to Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim | historic journey.
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