FRANKFORT, MI -- A team of five friends from northern Michigan have successfully crossed Lake Michigan on stand-up paddleboards in a bid to raise money for a Chicago-based Great Lakes environmental nonprofit.
About 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 24, the quintet beached their paddleboards in Frankfort, where a throng of friends and family greeted them.
Kwin Morris, Jeff Guy, Joe Lorenz, J. Mueller and Nick Darga stand-up paddleboarded from Wisconsin to Michigan, landing in Frankfort at 11:30 a.m. June 24.
"It was physically and mentally demanding, not only the miles, waves and wind, but the cold just zaps the energy out of you," said paddleboarder Kwin Morris, of Traverse City.
"It was intense, but we were ready for it."
Morris, Jeff Guy, Joe Lorenz, Joel Mueller and Nick Darga left Algoma, Wisconsin, on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and began paddling east across the lake, followed by a pair of safety boats and a boat with video producers from Ford Motor Company, which sponsored the outing.
The team chose their window based on a projected steady southwest wind for the crossing, a forecast which Morris said was not entirely accurate.
The group started into a northwest wind, followed by a calm and then an east headwind, he said. After another calm, the group paddled with a straight south wind for the rest of the crossing, which hampered the effort with side chop and forced the team to paddle on the same side of their boards for about 20 hours.
The last 10 miles was marked by four-foot waves, Morris said.
"It was very fatiguing and hard to stay on course," he said.
The journey was called Stand Up For Great Lakes and the goal was to raise $10,000 for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a Chicago nonprofit dedicated to freshwater conservation.
Crossing Lake Michigan on a paddleboard has been done before. In 2007, Joe Bidawid paddled solo from South Haven to Chicago in 18 hours. In 2013, Craig and Trent Masselink and friend Ginny Melby made it from Milwaukee to Muskegon in about 24 hours by using a relay approach with rest stops in a safety boat.
Others have tried unsuccessfully. Last summer, Jesse Hieb was turned back by high waves after 17 hours.
As the crow flies, their journey should have been about 60 miles. But with the wind and waves, Morris estimated the group paddled an extra 10 to 20 miles to reach Michigan.
The water temperature mid-lake was in the high 30s, he said. The group wore dry suits to stay warm, but the cold was still a fatiguing factor.
They did, however, paddle under a starry night marked by the Northern Lights.
Wisconsin to Michigan on a paddle-board. This is the route five Traverse City men took to raise money for a Great Lakes conservation nonprofit.
"It was cool to see them while paddling across the lake with 900 feet of water underneath you."
Morris said each paddler stayed on their board the entire trip.
The team had planned to tackle the journey last year, but had to postpone the attempt due to poor weather. Morris said the delay allowed extra time for training and ultimately made them better prepared for the ordeal.
In the meantime, Darga replaced paddler Andrew Pritchard for the outing.
Morris said Ford plans to produce a video of the journey.
Garret Ellison covers business, government and environment for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram