Megan Wallitsch
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The Narrow River Preservation Association hosted its 19th annual Narrow River Turn Around Swim on Saturday, June 20.
Swimmers gathered around the bank of the Narrow River to stretch, talk, and warm up for the quick one-mile swim. The swim welcomes an interesting mix of participants, while some have done the swim for many years, another large portion of participants are completely new to the swim and open water swimming in general, according to Betsy Motlyn, the Seasonal Event Coordinator of the Narrow River Preservation Association.
The course is a good way for swimmers to get into the sport because it’s flat and a bit salty, which helps them if they are training to work up to ocean swims, according to Motlyn. They also advertise the swim as a good preparatory swim for other local swims.
“It’s a good first outdoor competitive swim of the year in preparation for the Save the Bay swim,” said Joe Serdakowski, 73, who has participated in the swim for many years. “It’s just a great way to slow down the aging process.
Year after year, the event continues to grow. In 2025, the event had 79 swimmers. This year, there were 98 swimmers and 110 registrants, according to Motlyn. The community the swim has garnered is what keeps many participants coming back. “I would recommend the swim because I think it has a great community around it, and a lot of people come back year after year,” said Kate Porter, 17, who is a recurring participant and placed third overall.
All 98 swimmers lined up by the docks and took off down the Narrow River around 9 a.m. Going down the course, the current was with swimmers, helping them get to the swim’s turnaround point quickly. Coming back immediately following the turnaround, conditions were much choppier. “I would say this is, like, the worst year I’ve done so far for conditions, but like, even then, it wasn’t that bad,” Porter said. “And then coming back, it was a bit wavier, like kind of the wind’s in your face, but as you got down the course, it got better, and I think it was alright in the end.”
Safety is taken very seriously from the moment swimmers arrive at the event and then throughout their swims, according to Motlyn. Police from the Narragansett Police Department helped direct parking, and EMTs from North Kingstown were present. On the water, a powerboat safety crew conducted its own safety briefing before swimmers were given theirs. Event staff helped to ensure that swimmers felt prepared for their swims and were aware of things like oyster shells and other pointy shells that they could step on as they wade in and out of the river. There was also a safety kayak team on the water and three lifeguards on paddleboards monitoring the swim.
As swimmers reached the finish line, spectators, event staff, and participants cheered. “Everyone’s very supportive, everyone’s always clapping when you get out of the water, people stay back and cheer on everyone else who’s still there,” Porter said.
The swim aims to signify that the Narrow River is a swimmable river, according to Motlyn. “There was a time in its history where you could not safely swim in it, so it’s really a celebratory event.” The organization hosts many other events throughout the year, such as Art at the River and Pettaquamscutt Paddle, which help in their mission to engage people to preserve and protect the Narrow River and its watershed.
For those looking for a quick, easy, and fun way to get into, or back into, open water swimming, the Narrow River Turn Around Swim could not come more highly recommended by its participants.