On Sunday, Sept 10, Holland, Mich. resident Jon Ornée completed what he believes to be the first-ever unassisted swim from North Manitou Island to South Manitou Island. Ornée started from Donner’s Point on North Manitou Island at 7:45 am and reached shore at Gull Point on South Manitou Island at 9:24 am. The 4-mile swim took him 1 hour and 39 minutes to complete.
“My first foray onto the shoreline of South Manitou Island as a volunteer lighthouse keeper for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore became one of my gladdest moments in life,” writes volunteer lighthouse keeper Jonathan Schechter in this essay featured in our July 13 edition of the Sun. “It remains so today, and now, after six tours of duty at that historic 1871 lighthouse overlooking the often-stormy Manitou Passage of Lake Michigan, I reflect on how it all came to be and already look forward to next year. And I will share three confessions.” Read the story for Schechter’s confessions.
Late this month, Traverse City native Jake Bright will attempt a nearly 7-mile solo swim from Sleeping Bear Point to the South Manitou Island Lighthouse. If all goes well, his will be the first swim across the Manitou Passage that follows USA Swimming’s open-water rules. The date of his feat will depend on weather conditions, but he hopes to make the journey between Aug. 22 and Sept. 3.
Join the Leelanau Historical Society for its next program, Wrecks and Rescues of the Manitou Passage, on Wednesday, July 18, at 4 p.m. The Leelanau Historical Society is located at 203 E. Cedar Street in Leland.
The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for shoreline stabilization at the South Manitou Island Lighthouse complex within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
Thinking of taking your kayak or canoe from Sleeping Bear Point to South Manitou Island? Think again. The air temperature may reach a balmy 80 degrees, and the surface water temperature near the beach is slowly approaching swimmable levels. But the open water temperature out in the Manitou Passage never reaches the 60s. That’s frigid. And it can kill you.
The Glen Lake Community Library in Empire will host a special exhibit called “Footprints in the Sand – Tracing the Path that Led to the Birth of the Village of South Manitou Island” from April 4 through May 17. The exhibit tells the story of the Village using historical photographs, maps, drawings and narrative. The display opens with a reception on Friday, April 4 from 6 t0 8 p.m. Refreshments will also be served. It then can be viewed during regular library hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.
Three generations of descendants of four different Lighthouse Keepers will assemble at the South Manitou Island Lighthouse on July 10. The families of Keepers Aaron Sheridan, Julia Sheridan, James Putnam Burdick and Ron Rosie will be working to restore the historic Fog Whistle Building below the lighthouse in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.