Swimmers can complete journey to commemorate 50th anniversary of shipwreck

Next year, open water swimmers will have the chance to participate in a 17-stage, 411-mile relay swim from Lake Superior to Detroit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The swim is scheduled for July 26, 2025, and swimmers will be featured in an upcoming documentary film. The swim will start in Lake Superior from above the wreck and finish at Belle Isle Beach. Registration for the swim opened at 9 a.m. EST this morning, and anyone interested can register at this link .

VIDEO: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: What makes the gales of November?

The 729-foot shop was heading to Detroit in 1975, carrying more than 26,000 long tons of iron ore when the ship went down during a Lake Superior Storm on November 10. All 29 crew members were killed in the shipwreck. The ship currently sits in Canadian waters, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point.

“The Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim presents epic, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for up to 68 swimmers to be part of history, play a role in a documentary film, and swim where no one has ever swum before and may never swim again,” said organizer Jim Dreyer, who has swam across all five Great Lakes.

Swimmers will be raising money for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) to help preserve the Whitefish Point light station .

“The Edmund Fitzgerald, has come to represent, in many ways, shipwrecks in general on the Great Lakes, and the Whitefish Point Light is the most important beacon for all vessels entering or leaving Lake Superior,” said Bruce Lynn, GLSHS Executive Director. “Preserving the legacy of the 29 men who lost their lives in this historic maritime tragedy and helping to preserve a lighthouse that safeguards mariners along Lake Superior’s ‘Shipwreck Coast,’ are causes the swimmers can really rally around while they are themselves making history.”

Anyone looking for more information about this swim can find it at this link .