Navy welcomes back Save The Bay Swim

Posted 1/16/14

Save The Bay has been notified that the start of the 38th Annual Swim for Narragansett Bay will be welcomed back to Naval Station Newport. In July 2013, Save The Bay was forced to alter the course …

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Navy welcomes back Save The Bay Swim

Posted

Save The Bay has been notified that the start of the 38th Annual Swim for Narragansett Bay will be welcomed back to Naval Station Newport. In July 2013, Save The Bay was forced to alter the course for the Swim due to sequestration cuts to the military. Historically, the course started in Newport and ended at Potter Cove in Jamestown. Last year’s course was reconfigured in a triangle to start and finish at Potter Cove.

“We are thrilled to be returning to our traditional route across the Bay, from the Navy base in Newport to Potter Cove in Jamestown,” Save The Bay Executive Director Jonathan Stone said in an email to swimmers. “I don’t need to tell you how dramatic, exciting, challenging, and historic this route is: across the East Passage, below the towering span of the Pell Bridge, over 130 feet of deep ocean water, and around Taylor point.” 

The first cross-Bay swim, held in 1977, was started as a call to action to clean up Narragansett Bay. During the first few years of the Swim, it wasn’t uncommon to see swimmers emerge from the water with oil and tar balls on their skin and swimsuits. Today the annual Swim is a celebration of 38 years of progress and a reminder that much work remains to be done. The Swim is Save The Bay’s largest fundraising event and underwrites the organization’s environmental advocacy, restoration, and education programs.

On Saturday, July 19, Save The Bay will once again welcome 500 swimmers from across the country, joined by more than 100 kayakers, to take part in the two-mile open water swim across the East Passage. The Swim is sponsored by Citizens Bank and many other local businesses and organizations. All proceeds from the event directly benefit Save The Bay programs.

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