“I found the will to do it.” Matt Darling swims across Manitou Passage in 4 hours, 21 minutes

By Cameryn Cass

Sun contributor

After years of checking weather forecasts and waiting for the perfect window to safely swim across the Manitou Passage, Matthew Darling found the gap in the clouds he had been waiting for on Sept. 3.

“Like that Temptations song. ‘The third of September, a day I’ll always remember…'” he trailed off with a laugh.

It was a balmy 63 degrees with no wind when Darling, 57, and his support crew made up of Michael Sutherland—”Captain Mike Sutherland,” Darling corrected himself—and David Leith set sail from the Lake Street boat launch at 6 a.m.

From there, the three aimed towards Sleeping Bear Point, where Darling started his swim roughly 30 minutes later.

“I thought it was going to be 5.1 miles, but it was actually 7.3 miles,” he said of the distance between his starting point and South Manitou, the stretch of his swim.

“It took me 4 hours 21 minutes.”

Notably, Darling swam it in one fell swoop.

“I just did it nonstop. I kept going, I found the will to do it,” he said. “I was sort of worried that if I stopped, I wouldn’t start again.”

Looking back, though, he wished he would’ve taken a break for nourishment or, at the very least, to check in with his team.

Because apparently, while Darling was swimming, Sutherland was radioing with a freighter who altered its course to go around them. The once busy shipping route was otherwise quiet, save the trio.

Darling said that in the three years since he took up swimming, he has open water swam “big distances” in the ocean, as he winters in Santa Barbara. More recently, he discovered a style of swimming called total immersion, which is how he swam the Manitou Passage.

Total immersion swimming aims to conserve energy by cutting out sinking and uncontrolled movement with balance, stability and body alignment, according to Total Immersion, Inc.

Interestingly, the technique imitates the finned outline of a shark or a dolphin.

The total immersion swimmer swims freestyle with one arm pointed straight ahead while the other is bent upright above the water like a shark fin, pushing the water away.

Darling described swimming this way as “almost effortless.”

“Perfect” weather conditions also aided Darling that day. What little wind there was “helped me out at least 80% of the time.”

Though Lake Michigan is undoubtedly “water that deserves respect,” these “epic” weather conditions and Sutherland’s equipment on his boat—and knowledge—helped mitigate the lake’s sometimes harsh currents and undertows.

Plus, for the duration of the swim, Leith, who was something of a first mate, had eyes on Darling.

As he swam, Darling said he focused his eyes on a point on the horizon—South Manitou—and aimed towards it to keep his course. In his mind’s eye, Psalm 23 echoed like something of a mantra in his mind: “He guideth me beside still water.”

“I’ve always felt this strong connection to Leelanau County, ever since I was a kid,” he said. “I know I’m not unique in that sense.”

He reported feeling a strong connection to Lake Michigan, especially after his Big Swim, as well as a great reverence for the water.

Though the goal of swimming his longest distance yet and finding the gumption to do it was deeply personal, Darling emphasized how it really wasn’t an “‘I’ thing.”

“It was a ‘we’ thing, a ‘we’ effort, a ‘we’ adventure,” he said. “So many people helped put my mind at ease with their care, concern and understanding.”

Capt. Sutherland, a man who “marches to the beat of a different drum” has been a friend for 43 years. Leith is a connection and friend Darling made during his time at the Leelanau School in the ’80s. Rob Karner was a former teacher and offered mental support. KB Sutton helped in the physical conditioning realm, as did Ingrid Schmitz, who was Darling’s swim coach. Becky Thatcher and her team at Becky Thatcher Designs also supported his efforts.

“Without all of them, I wouldn’t have such a focused mind,” he said. “It was humbling to have such supportive people who contributed to my safety and awareness.”