One more update on Jim Dreyer's Straits of Mackinac swim

Jim Dreyer might have fell far short of his 125+ mile swim goal, but right now as he recuperates in a hospital he is thankful for still being around. After 49 hours and 40 miles Jim got out of the water yesterday morning just before 11 a.m. His shoulder was in a lot of pain, he was sick to his stomach, and the rough currents had sapped him of his remaining strength. After getting out of the water he felt that something was not quite right and had his team call in paramedics. He was taken to the St. Ignace hospital where his heart rate dropped to 40 and he subsequently passed out. It was pretty scary for a while, but by yesterday afternoon he was sitting up and cleaning his second plate of food.

He was moved to the hospital in Petoskey and was awaiting the results of further tests. Jim was in good spirits and only experiencing pain in his shoulder and legs - not his chest.

Read my previous posts about Jim here and here.

You can read the entire set of updates from his team at his website - www.swimjimswim.org.

Update on Jim Dreyer's Mackinac Straits swim

I just checked out Jim Dreyer's website for updates on his record swim across the Straits of Mackinac this morning. The most recent post was last night at 10:08 pm. Here is an excerpt:

Jim has been fighting a very strong current all day in the middle of the Straits. He has completed 9.5 miles and is going to swim the breaker wall for the night hours to make up some time.

I am not positive, but I believe the "breaker wall" they are talking about is the causeway that juts out into the Straits from the St. Ignace side of the bridge. I had wondered how it would be in the strong currents that the Straits of Mackinac are known for. Hopefully they will have more updates this morning.

Here is another picture from the Mackinac Bridge web cam from this morning. What a difference from the fog that laced the bridge yesterday. Should be a better day for Jim to swim.

Good Luck Jim!

Swimmer looks to set world distance record at Straits of Mackinac

Michigan native, Jim Dreyer, is planning on setting a new record for distance in a continuous swim. Dreyer will be swimming the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet at least 31 consecutive times. If he does that he will have swam at least 125 miles beating the previous record of 122. He originally was going to begin this Friday, but he has since moved up the starting day to today, August 28. According to the current news at Dreyer's website, www.swimjimswim.org, the swim is scheduled to begin around 8 a.m. unless weather conditions dictate otherwise.

I captured this image of the Mackinac Bridge this morning from the webcam at www.MackinacBridge.org. Look at that bank of fog obscuring the middle of the towers.

Dreyer does not just make these swims in the Great Lakes to set records. He gathers pledges from people that help support the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program. Once the swim begins (scheduled for 8am this morning) you can check his progress at www.swimjimswim.org/eventupdates.htm.

Via the Traverse City Record Eagle