HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jul. 24, 2025) – One Lakeshore man’s individual long-distance swimming effort has fallen short, while another man’s team excursion nears.
On Wednesday morning, Holland ophthalmologist Bryan Huffman took himself out of the waters of Lake Huron after going over 30 miles of a planned 35-mile crossing. He began his effort on Monday evening, with weather conditions dictating a start in Ontario instead of Port Sanilac, but 20-plus hours of battling high waves and other weather-related challenges proved to be too much. It was the first of two fundraising swims by Dr. Huffman for the Holland Aquatic Center Foundation, with a second coming in late August, across Lake Superior from Two Harbors, Minnesota to Port Wing, Wisconsin.
Watching with some interest is ultra-marathon swimmer Jim Dreyer of Spring Lake, who has crossed all of the Great Lakes during his 20-plus-year career.
Dreyer is organizing the Edmond Fitzgerald Memorial Swim, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the sinking of that freighter in Lake Superior, with 68 open water swimmers participating in a planned 17-stage, 411-mile relay effort, from Whitefish Bay where the ship sank, to the Detroit Yacht Club. This swim is slated to begin on Saturday, with a target completion date of August 27th, and is raising money for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
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