EMPIRE — Go big or go home, some say.
Julie Bennett is planning to go big and go home.
And, all the while she’ll have tangible reminders of home with her.
Growing up in Empire, Bennett never even thought of paddling the 50 some miles across Lake Michigan.
But today, she is preparing to be the first Michigander to cross the Pacific Ocean in a row boat. She’ll take the 2800-mile trek with another Michigander and two other Midwest women. They’ll launch next summer from the historic harbor of Monterey, California.
Dubbed, the World’s Toughest Row, it starts in June each year with teams participating from around the world. A finish line in Hanalei Bay on the stunning island of Kaua’i is what awaits Bennett in her once in a lifetime adventure. This year’s entrants, which Bennett watched takeoff streaming from the east shore of Lake Leelanau, could hit the shores of Hawaii any day now.
When Bennett is in the Ocean this time next year, she’ll likely be thinking a lot of about the unsalted waters of Lake Michigan, her upbringing in Empire and the fourth graders she teaches at North Pointe Christian School, a small faith-based Christian school located near Grand Rapids.
Bennett, a 1982 Glen Lake graduate, anticipates sponsorship decals and all kinds of moral support to be on board with her from Michigan — especially Northern Michigan — as she makes the trek. She’s accepting and seeking those reminders as she raises money and awareness for eating disorders, cancer and veterans.
“This area will always be a part of me, so I want to take that on the Pacific Ocean,” she said. “I would love to just litter the side of my boat with stickers from people in our area who say, ‘You’re crazy, but I believe in what you’re doing, I would never do it, but here’s $1,000.’”
She’ll have mixed emotions about her trip putting another spotlight on northern Michigan’s treasurers like the unsalted waters of Lake Michigan and Glen Lake.
“This is this is a love hate thing for me,” Bennett said while acknowledging she’d like to help keep the secrets of northern Michigan’s beauty. “I would love for people to know where I’m from. I’m so incredibly proud to be a Glen Lake Laker. I am so incredibly proud to have lived in the Village of Empire.”
But she anticipates feeling all of Michigan’s support during the trek.
“When I’m in day 27 and it’s dark and it’s windy, there will be stickers on the side of my boat that from people who donated,” Bennet said. “For mental and emotional and spiritual help, I need those people in the boat with me. I need my friends and my family.”
Bennett and the other members of her four-person crew are raising money for expenses like the boat they’ll use and the charities, specifically the National Eatings Disorders Association, The American Cancer Society and the Wounded Warriors Project. The fundraising is also necessary for registration.
The boat alone, a 28-footer built in 2019 with room for two or three rowers, will cost the crew $60,000. It is used and has some of the trip’s necessary equipment. The final cost of the vessel could reach $85,000.
Bennett’s fourth-graders are well aware of her plan to row across the Pacific. They only have two questions, she says.
The two questions they ask the most…they’re hilarious,” Bennett noted. “’What about sharks?’ — which is a non issue — and ‘where do you go poop’? They always ask the toilet question.”
The answer is in a bucket.
The rowers will not be escorted across the ocean. They do have a safety team they’ll be in contact with through satellite phone every single day. Rowers can talk to the homeland support multiple times a day if needed.
The team will alert the rowers of any storms coming and any navigational changes needing to be made. Most of the navigational choices are the teams choice as there is not a required course to take.
The crew will have 24/7 access to a doctor from launch to Hawaii, as they alternate rowing and resting two at a time. First Aid supplies will be on hand, as well as fresh water and dehydrated food. The boat will be equipped with solar panels powering batteries and a desalinator providing fresh water.
The crew is required to spend 120 hours on the boat even before the start. They’ll do drills in Bay while have overnight stays on the boat.
“The World’s Toughest Row does an amazing job at preparing us well for success,” Bennett said. “They provide all the guidance from their safety officer and the director. They’ve been doing this for a long time, so they really do set us up well for success.”
The preparedness, which included the ability to button down the hatches and huddle below in tight spaces to ride out storms, has included a monthly webinar and strict boat inspections.
“They inspect all the loose equipment,” Bennett said. “They have calculated out how many calories we need each day, so they make sure that we have all the dehydrated food, the extra water, all of the equipment needed.”
Bennett will feel safe and prepared by next June. Knowing hat’s well east of the Pacific will be at the top of her mind while she’s paddling.
“I need to know that back home, they’re on their race app following my dot,” she said. “I’ve got a team of people praying for me. I’ve got my church, I’ve got my small group, I’ve got my friends and family. They’re with me — that is the most important.”