Jamestown man swims from Providence to Newport Folk Festival to raise money for ocean cleanup

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Jamestown man is swimming from Providence to the Newport Folk Festival Friday in an effort to raise money for Clean Ocean Access.

Ben Tuff kicked off his 25-mile swim at 5:30 a.m. He’s expected to take 14 hours to get to Newport.

Tuff has done two prior swims similar to Friday’s, raising about $160,000 for the Rhode Island based environmental non-profit.

Last year, he swam from Jamestown to Block Island, and in 2020, he swam around Conanicut Island.

Tuff has raised over $80,000 so far for Friday’s swim.