On July 22, Ben Tuff will swim 25 miles from Providence to Newport, RI in an endurance effort to raise money for Clean Ocean Access. This epic swim will take approximately 14 hours from start to finish, giving Ben the honor of becoming the first person ever to swim the length of Narragansett Bay. Ben will enter the water in South Providence and finish this historic journey in Newport Harbor.
As a recovered alcoholic, Ben took up swimming 10 years ago to support his recovery journey and quickly fell in love with the sport. Ben’s story is covered in the upcoming documentary, “Swim Tuff: How I Swam My Way Out of the Bottle”, where viewers and champions of his effort and mission can learn more about his incredible story.
Ben’s love and awe for the ocean have inspired him to swim two other marathon swims, raising more than $160,000 for Clean Ocean Access. In August of 2020, Ben swam 23 miles around Conanicut Island, and in 2021 Ben swam from Block Island to Jamestown, swimming 19 miles in just 9 hours. He braved the cold waters, jellyfish, and sharks, during these challenging feats thanks to family, friends, and ocean lovers, while becoming the first person in history to complete both achievements. This July 22nd, Ben will push himself further to the test and complete his longest swim yet.
Ben trains 2 hours a day for these long swims, preparing his body and mind for the extreme challenges he will face. He notes, “Hours 6 to 10 are the worst.”, so he focuses on the health of the ocean and the health of friends facing challenges they cannot control in order to help push him through and keep going. While Ben says he isn’t the best swimmer, he thrives on the challenge of undertaking these epic swimming feats. “I wish that more people would just embrace trying something new later in their lives,” says Tuff in a sample of the video footage, “Because they might just surprise themselves.”
Please visit our donation page to support and learn more about the Ben Tuff - “Give Back Swim”. We are so proud of Ben and are truly grateful for his dedication to Clean Ocean Access. We look forward to watching him swim yet another remarkable test of endurance!