16th Annual Swim Across America – Rhode Island Open Water Swim Makes Waves to Fight Cancer on September 6, 2025 Credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO

Good morning, Newport! 👋 Today is Saturday, Aug. 16, the 228th day of 2025. There are 137 days left in the year.

Today’s Weather: Sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning.

🚨 You need to know

More than 900 swimmers and volunteers will gather at Scarborough North State Beach in Narragansett on Saturday, Sept. 6, for the 16th annual Swim Across America – Rhode Island Open Water Swim, one of the nation’s largest charity swimming events.

The event, which offers quarter-mile, half-mile and 1-mile swim options, has been temporarily relocated from Roger Wheeler State Beach due to boardwalk construction. Registration opens at 8 a.m., with swimmers entering the water at 10:15 a.m. in waves based on their chosen distance. The welcome ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. and will feature “Why I Swim” speakers before the safety briefing at 10 a.m.

“Swim Across America’s Rhode Island Open Water Swim is a bad day for cancer and a great day for hope,” said Event Director Douglas Sayles. “Each September, we come together not to compete, but to celebrate and stand alongside researchers, caregivers and cancer survivors in our shared commitment to fund lifesaving research.”

Since 2010, the Rhode Island event has raised nearly $3 million to support cancer research at Women & Infants Hospital’s Program in Women’s Oncology. The funding has contributed to discovering an ovarian cancer biomarker and clinical risk algorithm now used globally to improve early detection. This year’s fundraising goal is $325,000, with Providence College and Bryant University swimming and diving teams currently leading the fundraising competition among 41 participating teams.

The event attracts 22 college teams from Southern New England and offers a virtual participation option for those unable to attend in person. Registration, volunteer and donation information is available at swimacrossamerica.org/rhodeisland. Nationally, Swim Across America has raised more than $120 million for cancer research since 1987 and has supported clinical trials that contributed to FDA-approved cancer immunotherapies.

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📅 What’s Up Today

Weather Forecast

  • Today: Sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
  • Tonight: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 3 to 6 mph.
  • Tomorrow: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 82. South wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Marine Forecast

  • Today: Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming SSE 5 to 8 kt in the afternoon. Sunny. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tonight: Variable winds 5 kt or less. Patchy fog after 1am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tomorrow: SSW wind 5 to 10 kt. Patchy fog before 10am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • The coastal water temperature is 68 degrees.

Sun, Moon & Tide

  • Sunrise at 5:55 am. Sunset at 7:43 pm. 13 hours & 47 minutes of sun.
  • High tide at 1:44 am & 2:16 pm. Low tide at 6:49 am & 9:12 pm.
  • The lunar phase is a Last Quarter Moon.

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Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...