Boyne City's Minier completes Lake Charlevoix end to end swim

BOYNE CITY — British swimmer and ultra-sportsman Ross Edlegy swam 1,791 miles around the British Isles in 2018.

Little does Edlegy know, a fascinated Northern Michigan resident decided to take on a challenge of his own.

Just over 3,000 miles away, Frank Minier, a 2019 Boyne City graduate, completed a much more modest, but respectable swim of 12.7 miles.

“I saw him in college, and I saw him go through this experience. That’s when I kind of got curious about it; that was about two years ago, and the rest his history,” Minier said

Minier started his excursion on Thursday, Aug. 8 at Depot Beach in Charlevoix, and completed his swim at Peninsula Beach in Boyne.

Minier didn’t exactly have the most conventional path to extreme open water swimming.

“I didn’t really have a background in swimming, I was a powerlifter in high school and played football. I didn’t have a background in endurance. I realized that I had to get off my ass and get in shape,” Minier said.

Minier’s last few years were quite the contrary of endurance sports.

“I did esports in college, so I was on my butt for hours.”

Minier realized he needed to change something about his life.

“I realized I had to get in shape. I started running five miles a day.  I’m swimming as well, and I’ve been eating a lot of protein.”

While Minier prepared for the swim throughout the months leading up, waves of anxiety still lingered before he made the swim.

“(I was) definitely anxious about this; it’s going to be hard. I’m expecting a minimum of about eight hours. A lot of it I’m going to be by myself in the water. I’m mentally strong and I know that. I’ve been focusing on that and I just think, ‘one stroke after the next.”

Minier believes the swim is more than just about meeting his physical goals, it’s also about the connection he feels for the community, and, more importantly, the lake. Minier believed that visualization played a large role in his preparation, something that’s easy for Minier.

“I grew up in Lake Charlevoix; I love this lake, I know the layout of the lake.”

While Minier believes he prepared adequately for the swim, conditions did come into play. He monitored the water conditions closely prior to the swim. Along with the conditions, Minier also looked into safety considerations leading up to it.

“It was between Thursday and Friday, we picked the conditions based on that,” Minier said. "We’ve talked to the Coast Guard, the Sheriff's department."

Minier completed the swim in 10 hours and 31 minutes; however, he doesn’t plan on this being his last swim.

“I’m just getting started. This is my first swim of many. I want to go from Mackinaw to Beaver island. My end goal is Detroit to Chicago.”

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City's Minier completes Lake Charlevoix end to end swim