JAMESTOWN, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man is planning a 19-mile swim from Block Island to Jamestown later this month to raise money for a nonprofit that works to keep oceans clean.
Ben Tuff’s grueling swim on July 31 will raise money for Clean Ocean Access. Just two years ago, he swam 23 miles around Conanicut Island to raise more than $54,000 for the organization, The Newport Daily News reported.
Tuff is director of admission at Rumsey Hall School in Connecticut and a former triathlete who grew up in Jamestown.
To keep safe, he’ll wear a shark-repellent device. About two meters long, the device will trail behind him.
It can be a burden, but Tuff said it will provide peace of mind during a stretch of the swim when he won’t be able to see land.
Two boats and a paddle boarder will trail him during the swim. He estimates the swim will take one to two hours more than his Jamestown around-the-island swim in 2019 that lasted nine hours, 11 minutes, but much depends on currents.
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