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A man who was thrown out of a boat and into frigid Lake Superior Friday survived after swimming about 2 miles to safety. 

According to the Cook County sheriff’s office, two men left the Grand Portage marina in far northeast Minnesota Friday evening, bound for Isle Royale National Park, about 20 miles away. 

The boat hit a wave, and one of the men “flew out of the boat somehow,” said Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen. 

The driver of the boat, Joe Modec, couldn’t find his friend. He called the Coast Guard and returned to shore. 

Later, his friend, Peter Joice, was spotted waving sticks from a small island called Portage Island off the shore from the Grand Portage reservation. 

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s game warden “jumped in a boat and went out and picked him up,” Eliasen said. 

Joice estimated he swam about 2 miles before reaching the island. 

The Cook County Sheriff's office named Joice in its report on the incident. When reached by MPR News, Joice declined to comment.

“It was very unfortunate, but it was also very fortunate, because nobody was hurt,” said Eliasen. “Nobody lost their lives, and you know, it probably couldn’t have played out much better than this, actually, for an accident like that.”

Although it's not known whether Joice was wearing a life vest, Eliasen added the incident serves as a good reminder to always wear a life jacket and to be aware of what’s happening around you when out on Lake Superior, where the waters can be notoriously rough and cold. 

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A man who was thrown out of a boat and into frigid Lake Superior Friday evening survived after swimming about 2 miles to safety to a small island offshore from the Grand Portage reservation in far northeast Minnesota.

An aerial view of wooden structures and a shoreline

Man thrown from boat in Lake Superior swims 2 miles to safety

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