GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — This fall will mark 50 years since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and to honor the 29 crew members who perished that night, local swimmers will swim over 400 miles – starting from where the ship sank in Lake Superior all the way down to Belle Isle in Detroit.
"It's the world's most famous shipwreck not named Titanic," said Jim Dreyer, Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim Team Organizer.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was carrying over 26,000 tons of iron ore and sank to the bottom of Lake Superior on a stormy night on November 10, 1975.
WATCH: Swimmers to complete Edmund Fitzgerald's final journey 50 years later
Fifty years later, 68 swimmers are preparing to finish the freighter's 411-mile journey.
"These swimmers are going to be making history while they commemorate history; nothing like this has ever been done before," said Dreyer.
The trek will be completed in 17 stages — with four swimmers at each stage. Each person will swim anywhere between 5 and 10 miles.
"We're actually going to be carrying some iron ore from the same dock in Superior Wisconsin, that loaded the Edmund Fitzgerald, and we're going to deliver it to Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit," said Dreyer.
The goal of the swim is to not only honor those that died — but also raise money for the Whitefish Point Lighthouse — which went dark the night the Fitzgerald sank.
"We've heard about it all our childhood. I'm from Michigan so it's kind of one of those epic history things. And really it was not that long ago that it happened," said Laura Hall, a member of the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim Team.
Grand Rapids resident Laura Hall is one of the swimmers participating in the memorial. She's been swimming her whole life and will be taking on the Thunder Bay portion of the relay near Alpena.
"Always a little nervous with any event, you know, but the more I've done, the easier it feels. Just kind of sad to see where it ended for them, but cool to continue to the full…distance," said Hall.
While it could take a full month to complete, the organizer of the swim, Jim Dreyer, says they're happy to finish Edmund Fitzgerald's final journey.
"The symbolism of this is the Edmund Fitzgerald finally makes it to Detroit 50 years later, and we never forget the 29 men who died," said Dreyer.
The Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim is scheduled to start Friday July, 26.
Click here to donate to Whitefish Point Lighthouse
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