"I swing hard. When I connect, it's big.
When I miss, it's big ... and I swing again.
Go BIG or go home!" ~ Jim Dreyer
Cornerstone Strength Swim - Mackinac Island
(Pfeiffer Lincoln Murdick's Fudge Run)
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Jim "The Shark" Dreyer's Pfeiffer Lincoln Murdick's Fudge Run was arguably his most impressive strength swim, despite not having the Hollywood glitz of Stan Lee's Superhumans or the media frenzy of swimming into a large city (Detroit), as his preceding feats of strength did. Also, unlike those other two swims, the goal of towing the weight to the intended destination was not realized, which understandably tends to cloud the perceived success of the event and overshadows the raw statistics of the feat.
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In the end, Jim towed 19+ tons for 9.3 miles in 10 grueling hours against an intense current that nearly tripled the point-to-point distance of the swim. It was quite a show ... in all respects.
Official Charity
Official Auto Dealer
Official Retailer
Official Fudge
Official Mackinac
Island Ferry
Official Radio Station
Special Thanks
Prize Sponsors
The First Car Ferry to Mackinac Island
... Human-Powered at That
True, this was a swim, but The Shark was making a "run" ... a "fudge run" to Mackinac Island for their most popular export.
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It would be no ordinary swim. Jim would swim 3.6 miles from St. Ignace to the island, towing a barge carrying a brand new Lincoln MKC and crew. Promoted as the "first human-powered car ferry to Mackinac Island," this was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the law prohibiting motor vehicles on the historic and charming island. The car would be filled with fudge and returned to the mainland.
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While the swim itself did not receive as much notoriety as some of Jim's other swims, the promotional elements of the event for Habitat for Humanity were grand. With the support of generous
sponsors, including great radio support, a 2-year lease of the Lincoln MKC was raffled off. Buyers of raffle tickets received a half-pound box of fudge. There were Watch & Win Cruises to witness the record swim, which included a raffle ticket, Jim "The Shark" Dreyer trivia contest for prizes, and a cash bar. It was a party!
The Fudge Run was held in conjunction with the 2015 Labor Day Mighty Mac Swim across the Straits of Mackinac alongside the Mackinac Bridge. As these combined events were managed by Jim, Mighty Mac swimmers sold raffle tickets to fulfill their fundraising requirements.
Over $427,000 was raised for Habitat for Humanity affiliates of Michigan, making this event their largest single fundraiser ever, and the 12th largest grossing fundraising swim in history, according to the World Open Water Swimming Association!
The Long and Winding Road
It was smooth sailing at first. The waters were still and The Shark pulled the barge to within a half mile of the island in an amazing 3.5 hours! No one expected this kind of pace for a swim that was predicted to take 12-20 hours. It appeared the afternoon cruises would miss the show. No worries. That did not happen.
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Winds suddenly picked up and Jim fought relentlessly against strong currents for the next 6.5 hours. He actually lost more ground than he had gained, and got pushed almost completely back to the mainland northwest of the island, and well north of his starting point. Slowly he managed to fight his way back to the south (passing his starting point), but was unable to make any progress to the east. After 10 hours, Dreyer was detached from the barge and swam free to the island for approximately another 4 hours to cover an estimated 4 miles against the powerful current. The barge, now under it's own power, also struggled against the current as it made it's way to the island to complete the promotion.
Despite Jim not wanting to claim the swim as a "victory," it is safe to say that no one else had ever pulled this amount of weight, swimming this kind of distance, for this amount of time.​
Conditions were ideal and almost magical at the start, with Mackinac Island on the horizon in the glow of the sunrise.
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Steven Heaney (in driver's seat above) reaps the fruit of Jim Dreyer's labor as the lucky winner of the Lincoln MKC, thanks to the generosity of Dan Pheiffer (in passenger seat). Jim looks on as Steven accepts the keys from Dan.
