Nearly 50 years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter sunk off the coast Lake Superior, taking its 29-man crew with it.
In remembrance of the tragedy, dozens of swimmers will be participating in a more than 400-mile relay swim starting on July 26. In teams of four, swimmers will relay from the wreck site in Lake Superior into Lake Huron and the St. Claire River, ending at Belle Isle in Detroit.
Okemos resident John VanderSloot will be taking on a 20-mile section between Sturgeon Point and the Au Sable River in mid-August. He said he didn't think too hard about deciding to participate after he learned about the swim.
"My high school buddy, Brian VanderHoff, called me out of the blue, and he's like, 'Hey, there's this neat swim they're going to be doing this summer commemorating the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald,'" he said. "And I thought, oh, that's kind of a neat Michigan thing, right?"
He says he's been preparing by swimming across pools in the Lansing area like on Michigan State University's campus and the Michigan Athletic Club. He has some open water swims planned to get him used to the feel and temperature of the water in Lake Huron.
"It won't be like Superior, like some of the folks have to do. So, middle of Lake Huron, I just hoping that it's decent."
As a cancer survivor, VanderSloot says the experience has him reflecting on the time he's had since he had a bone marrow transplant in his 20s in contrast to the time the men who died in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald didn't get to have.
"You just never know," he said. "Your ship goes, and you don't what kind of storms are going to go through life. And it doesn't always work out, right?
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with VanderSloot for more about why he's joining the swim.
Interview Highlights
On how he's preparing for his section of the swim
I do have college swimming on my background, but still kind of getting back in the water has been a little bit tougher than I thought, honestly. So, in my mid-50s here, trying to get in shape has been a little bit challenging. So, swimming in the area, at local pools here and at Michigan State, and then at the MAC and so, just trying to stay at it. It's not a race. So, I'm trying to keep that perspective. It's a relay. It's a fundraiser. And so, yeah, just looking forward to it.
On how the team relay will work
Teams of four. And then there'll be a boat with us. There'll be a rescue swimmer. There'll be a medical team. It's very safe in that respect. And then, really, you're going to swim probably as much as you feel like, if I would imagine that we'd all swim 45 minutes to an hour, and then the next person will go ... Probably at the end of it, each of us will try to swim three to four miles, depending the strength of how we feel.
On what this experience will mean to him
I'm a cancer survivor, and not that that has necessarily an effect with the Edmund Fitzgerald. But just think about man, those 29 souls that were lost, they've had 50 years where they weren't here, right? And I've had 30 years since I had a bone marrow transplant. And I just thought, wow, how thankful I am to have those 30 years.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: Nearly, fifty years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter sunk off the coast Lake Superior, taking its 29-man crew with it. In remembrance of the tragedy, dozens of swimmers will be participating in a more than 400-mile relay swim starting this weekend.
One of them is an Okemos resident, and he join us now. John VanderSloot, thank you for being here.
John VanderSloot: Thanks for having me.
Saliby: How did you get involved with this memorial swim?
I kind of wanted to get back into working out a little bit more, and so I signed up without even kind of thinking about it.
VanderSloot: Yeah, it's interesting. My high school buddy, Brian VanderHoff, called me out of the blue, and he's like, "Hey, there's this neat swim they're going to be doing this summer commemorating the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald." And I thought, oh, that's kind of a neat Michigan thing, right? A neat Michigan experience.
And I kind of wanted to get back into working out a little bit more, and so I signed up without even kind of thinking about it. There was two sections available, we could kind of go together. And I just signed up and said, "Hey, this might be a neat experience," and that's kind of what got me going.
Saliby: The event starts this weekend, but your portion of the swim isn't for a few weeks. It's next month. How are you preparing right now?
VanderSloot: I really hadn't swam much since COVID, honestly. I mean, I'm a former high school and college swimmer, so I do have college swimming on my background, but still kind of getting back in the water has been a little bit tougher than I thought, honestly. So, in my mid-50s here, trying to get in shape has been a little bit challenging. So, swimming in the area, at local pools here and at Michigan State, and then at the MAC and so, just trying to stay at it.
It's not a race. So, I'm trying to keep that perspective. It's a relay. It's a fundraiser.
It's not a race. So, I'm trying to keep that perspective. It's a relay. It's a fundraiser. And so, yeah, just looking forward to it. And my leg is in the middle of August, so I'll be swimming from Surgeon Point to Au Sable River. It's about 20 miles and so just looking forward to getting after it and really commemorating the 29 souls that were lost on that day in November of 1975.
Saliby: You're going to be in Lake Huron. I think it's a little bit colder than your average pool. How are you preparing for that?
VanderSloot: That's a good question. Yeah, I've been looking at the temperatures and lately, it seems the lakes haven't been too bad. But, you know, I know Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and they can change dramatically, just depending on the way the water is. So, you know, I'll definitely have a wetsuit, and just trying to prepare, do a couple open water swims in local lakes.
But, you know, the Great Lakes are just different. I remember one time I did a triathlon, the day before that, it was going to be fine, and then the morning of the swim, they almost canceled it because it was much colder, so you never know. So, hopefully it'll be not too bad it won't be like Superior, like some of the folks have to do. So, middle of Lake Huron, I just hoping that it's decent.
Saliby: You'll be with three other team members for this stretch of the swim, and one of them is your friend. Can you talk about what that will actually look like? Because I've read up on how this swim will go, and it's unlike anything I've heard of.
VanderSloot: It's really good. Teams of four. And then there'll be a boat with us. There'll be a rescue swimmer. There'll be a medical team. It's very safe in that respect. And then, really, you're going to swim probably as much as you feel like, if I would imagine that we'd all swim 45 minutes to an hour, and then the next person will go.
So, you'll have a break in between, I think, if it's really wavy, we have a kind of a window, this August 11 to August 13. So, if the weather's bad, we can push it, push it back a day or so. We're just going to go as much as you feel like going. Probably at the end of it, each of us will try to swim three to four miles, depending the strength of how we feel.
Saliby: What do you hope to gain from this experience?
It just really, really helped me kind of crystallize, like, wow, how thankful I have to be for these last 30 years since my bone marrow transplant when I was in my 20s. I have a great wife, have a child, have a grandchild now.
VanderSloot: Yeah, you know, I've been thinking about that. Why do it? To commemorate the memory, I think of all that, but also just for me, I just think back, personally, I look at my own history. I'm a cancer survivor, and not that that has necessarily an effect with the Edmund Fitzgerald. But just think about, man, those 29 souls that were lost, they've had 50 years where they weren't here, right?
And I've had 30 years since I had a bone marrow transplant. And I just thought, wow, how thankful I am to have those 30 years. You just never know, just because the analogy, right, your ship goes and you don't what kind of storms are going to go through life. And it doesn't always work out, right?
And it just really, really helped me kind of crystallize, like, wow, how thankful I have to be for these last 30 years since my bone marrow transplant when I was in my 20s. I have a great wife, have a child, have a grandchild now. So just really, try to really appreciate what you have, because there's no guarantees.
Saliby: Okemos resident John VanderSloot is participating in the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim for the 50th anniversary of the ship sinking. Thank you for joining me, and good luck!
VanderSloot: All right. Thanks so much. Sophia. I appreciate it.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
