Politics & Government

Naval Station Newport Welcomes Back Save The Bay for Annual Swim

Last year, Save The Bay was forced to alter the course for the swim due to sequestration cuts to the military.

The 38th Annual Swim for Narragansett Bay will be welcomed back to Naval Station Newport, Save The Bay announced Friday afternoon.

Last year, Save The Bay was forced to alter the course due to sequestration cuts. 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.

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"We are thrilled to be returning to our traditional route across the Bay, from the Navy base in Newport to Potter Cove in Jamestown,” said Save The Bay Executive Director Jonathan Stone 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." 

Find out what's happening in Newportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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.

Find out what's happening in Newportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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, 2014, Save The Bay will once again welcome five hundred 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.

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