Paddling Across Lake Michigan
Photo by John Gessner
Five guys, 60 miles of open water, one goal
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
UPDATE: It took 10 months to wait for the right weather, but the crew arrived in Frankfort to much fanfare on June 24, 2015 — a year after they had planned.
Big waves, and trouble securing an escort boat, prevented the crew from leaving before Labor Day weekend. They now hope to make the journey this coming weekend, Sept. 5-7.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Bordine and Aubrey Ann Parker
By the time you read this, Andrew Pritchard, Kwin Morris, Jeff Guy, Joe Lorenz and J Mueller may be sitting at Frankfort’s Stormcloud Brewery, tipping back a round of well-deserved pints. Or they may be still en route, traversing 60 miles across Lake Michigan, from Wisconsin to Frankfort beach on standup paddleboards. The goal of the journey is to raise $10,000 for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, which has preserved and protected the “freshwater seas” since 1970.
The five athletes have been training since last December to cross the lake. They planned to do it around Labor Day weekend. Pritchard, Morris, Guy, Lorenz and Mueller are all physically fit, experienced paddleboarders. For safety, they will not be alone on the lake; the group will have a support boat shadowing them at all times. You can follow the “Great Paddle” by visiting StandUpforGreatLakes.com. They’ll provide updates along the way on their Facebook page, Facebook.com/StandUpforGreatLakes, provided that they pick up a cellular phone signal along the way.
“It’s the challenge of a lifetime,” said Pritchard, digital marketing manager at Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor. “It’s also a great opportunity to raise some money for these lakes that sustain our way of life and to draw attention to the significant issues affecting them.”
Lake Michigan, itself, is crossed by sail countless times each year. It has been crossed by a handful of well-equipped kayakers over the years. But so far, very few standup paddleboarders have attempted. Their goal has been to find a near perfect window of calm weather before Labor Day to cross 60 miles of open water.
“We’re surfers, paddlers, kayakers, fisherman, and sailors,” said Morris. “We love our lakes — the great ones and the small ones — and the opportunity to make such a significant journey across one of them is amazing!”
Stand up for Great Lakes features a bold and dramatic athletic event, but its real purpose is to help Alliance for the Great Lakes raise awareness about the threats facing the largest freshwater source in the world. The lakes are under threat, writes Pritchard. Their nemesis include oil pipelines of questionable integrity, invasive species, sewage leakage, pharmaceutical pollution, agricultural runoff, and those people who think it’s okay to throw beer cans and cigarette butts wherever they please.
Alliance for the Great Lakes, a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 1970, works with scientists, policymakers, businesses, community groups, and everyday citizens to protect and restore the world’s largest freshwater resource. Over 80 percent of the organization’s funds go towards programs that safeguard the lakes. For more information visit GreatLakes.org.
