Thanks to all of the swimmers who joined us for our 

12th Annual Turnaround Swim!

on Saturday, June 24, 2017

139 Compete in 2016 Narrow River
Turnaround Swim

On Saturday, June 25, 139 swimmers set off from the beach adjacent to the URI Campanella Rowing Center dock at 9:00 a.m., swam around a buoy a half mile down river, and headed back to the beach.

And here's how they did:

Stuart Cromarty of Foster R.I. was first with a time of 19:01 followed by Matt Gilson of Albion, R.I. who had a time of 19:38.

Jessica Ackerman of Warwick, R.I. was first in the Women Non-Wetsuit Division and third overall with time of 20:02.

Timothy Brown of Lincoln, R.I finished fourth with a time of 20:18, the fastest in the Men's Non-Wetsuit Divison.

Jillian Schneider of Narragansett, R.I. finished in 20:48 to lead the Women's Wetsuit Division and place 6th overall.

 

See complete results for the 2016 Turnaround Swim

See results by Division

 See more Turnaround Swim pictures in an NRPA photo album on Flickr

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.

Directions from Connecticut via I-95 Northbound:

• Take I-95 through Conn. to exit 3A in Rhode Island.

• Take exit 3A - Route 138 East and stay on 138 for about 15 miles. You will pass URI on the left.

• Travel 4 more miles to US-1 and take a LEFT onto US-1 North.

• Move to the right lane and travel 0.7 miles. A turning lane is available.

• Take a right onto Walmsley Lane and drive down the hill.

• Park on Walmsley Lane only, facing downhill on the left.

• Take I-95 South to Exit 9/RI-4 South (a left exit).

• At the end of RI-4, merge onto US-1 South and drive past the exit for 138 East.

• Continue on US-1 South. You will pass the boathouse entrance on the opposite side of the median.

• At the Route 138 West intersection (a traffic light after the Holiday Inn on the right) make a U-turn.

• Travel north on US-1 for 0.7 miles and turn right onto Walmsley Lane and drive down the hill.

• Park on Walmsley Lane only, facing downhill on the left.