A grim milestone has been passed for a third year in a row on the Great Lakes.
For the third year in a row, over 100 people have drowned in one of the five Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, which tracks drownings in the lakes, reports 101 people have drowned so far in 2022.
The organization says the figure could get even higher with two months left in the year and in 11 other cases the cause of death has not been determined or released.
Bob Pratt, Director of Education for the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, says the numbers are heartbreaking but expects them to grow before the year is over.
"Probably see some fisher people washed off of piers, which is where our drownings move to in the Fall," he says. "Occasionally we'll have ducks hunters who get into trouble in the water and unfortunately in the winter time, we have people who go out onto the ice flows and get into trouble on the ice flows."
In 2021, 101 people drown in the Great Lakes, 108 died in 2020, 97 in 2019 and 117 in 2018.
Pratt says too many people think because they're a strong swimmer in a pool, that will protect them in the lakes.
"The Great Lakes are like inland seas than they are lakes. The water in a pool is always flat, warm and calm but you get out into the lakes, the water is usually cold, it's usually rough and the skill set you need to be a good swimmer in a lake is very different than the skill set you need to be a good swimmer in a pool," he says.
Pratt says he would love to see more and more people wear life jackets.
"We've tracked drownings since 2010 and we're up at 1,150 {drownings} and the vast majority of them are not wearing life jackets. If you have a life jacket on and you're wearing it, your chances of surviving in the Great Lakes are much, much greater," he adds.
So far in 2022, 43 lives have been lost to drowning in Lake Michigan, 6 in Lake Superior, 12 in Lake Huron, 19 in Lake Erie and 21 in Lake Ontario.