About the Swim
The Narrow River Turnaround Swim is an annual one-mile open-water swim in the Lower Pond of Narrow River. The swim creates awareness of the river as a scenic area and as a good place to swim, promotes open-water swimming as a lifetime activity, and raises money for the NRPA’s education and preservation initiatives.
Thanks to NRPA and others, water quality in Narrow River has improved. In the words of Narragansett Elementary School Physical Education teacher Paul McCaffery, who co-chairs the event with URI Swimming and Diving Coach Mick Westkott, “The title Turnaround is indicative of the path we chose for the course of the swim and also for the course of the river. The Narrow River has been turned around from one that wasn’t healthy to one that is.”
In addition to Paul and Mick, other people on the Swim Committee are: Perry Moylan, Pat Gannon, Felix Sarubbi, Jason McNamee, Lori Pugh, Karen DeQuattro, Shelagh Donohoe (Head Coach, URI Women’s Rowing), NRPA President Richard Grant, and Veronica Berounsky (NRPA Board member). They will be assisted by the many friends, relatives and colleagues who have offered to return to help make the swim run smoothly and efficiently.
URI Rowing Center
The swim takes place at the URI Campanella Rowing Center, a beautiful spot on Narrow River’s Lower Pond, and also the location of La Farge Point Park. WER La Farge was one of the founders of NRPA in 1970 and remained active until his untimely death from cancer in 1994. He bequeathed a piece of his farm as land for the Rowing Center.
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