High 5! After over 20-hour crossing of Lake Ontario, paddleboarder crosses all 5 Great Lakes

Mike Shoreman said he is first person with a disability to cross all 5 Great Lakes in one summer via paddleboard

Mike Shoreman said he is raising awareness and money for mental health by becoming the first man with a disability to paddleboard across all 5 Great Lakes. Contributed photo. (Matt Wagner)

Mission accomplished for Mike Shoreman!

On Saturday afternoon, Shoreman pulled onto shore of his hometown Toronto after an over 20-hour crossing of Lake Ontario on his paddleboard.

Recommended Videos



Shoreman’s quest to paddleboard across all five Great Lakes this summer is now complete.

To view a video of him arriving on shore in Toronto from Twitter, click or tap here.

Shoreman, who in 2018 was diagnosed Ramsey Hunt Syndrome, a neurological condition that affects the nervous system and causes mental and physical imbalance, finished his quest to raise money and awareness for mental health by becoming the first man with a disability to cross all five Great Lakes on a paddleboard.

Shoreman left Youngstown, New York at roughly 4 p.m. ET on Friday and finished his trip across Lake Ontario at around 1 p.m. Saturday in Toronto.

On May 29, Shoreman successfully crossed Lake Erie from Point Sturgeon, New York, to Crystal Beach, Ontario, a journey he said lasted 17 miles and took seven hours.

On June 12, Shoreman crossed Lake Huron, going from Harbor Beach, Michigan to Goderich, Ontario, which provided a major scare.

Shoreman said he had a medical emergency in the middle of the night in the middle of the lake, but managed to cross it completely in more than 28 hours.

He was met by paramedics on the beach, but was ultimately OK.

On July 5, Shoreman successfully crossed his third Great Lake when he paddleboarded across Lake Superior from Orenta, Wisconsin to Two Harbors, Minnesota, a 28-mile journey that took more than eight hours.

On July 27, Shoreman paddleboarded to a beach in Chicago after crossing Lake Michigan, finishing a 44-mile, roughly 28-hour journey that began in Union Pier, Michigan.

On each of his trips, Shoreman was accompanied by a boat and a crew that feeds him every 30 minutes. There also is a filming crew that is documenting his every move.

An avid paddleboarder, Shoreman was told he could never paddleboard again after his diagnosis, but didn’t pay attention to that edict.

“It sent me on a huge mental health journey,” Shoreman said earlier this summer. “I realized on the other side of where I went, I never want to see kids or young people go to where I went mentally.”

So, Shoreman, who calls himself the “Unbalanced Paddleboarder” on his Twitter account, decided to do something about it, his diagnosis be darned.

Slowly, Shoreman got back into paddleboarding, increasing his endurance to where he felt he could take on all five of the Great Lakes this summer.

Now, he has conquered all of them, and hopes his story can be an inspiration to anyone struggling with mental health.


About the Author:

Keith is a member of Graham Media Group's Digital Content Team, which produces content for all the company's news websites.

Recommended Videos