To the editor: On Saturday, Sept. 26, Trent Theroux from Barrington swam 41.5 miles around Aquidneck Island in an effort to raise money for Spinal Cord Injury Research. Mr. Theroux, a local triathlete and swimmer, was temporarily paralyzed three years ago after he was run over by a boat while swimming.

His adventure began when entered the water at Ft. Adams State Park in Newport at 7 a.m.

I was one of a handful of scheduled “support swimmers” who swam along with Mr. Theroux throughout the day. At 5:30 p.m., I was picked up by a boat from the support flotilla on a Tiverton dock and brought out to Mr. Theroux as he passed under the Sakonnet River Bridge. While the water temperature in the Narragansett Bay Basin was estimated to be 68 degrees, the air temperature at that time was dropping into the 50s and the sun was beginning to set.

During one of his breaks, which came every 25 minutes to take in food and hot tea, Trent looked at me and smiled like we were passing each other in a super market isle. “Hey Joe! Glad you are out here with me!” He then pointed to a channel marker in the distance and said; “When we reach that marker, I am at 23 miles. That is the distance of the English Channel!” And then he pulled his goggles back on and took off.

While I consider myself a strong open water swimmer I found it impossible to keep pace with Mr. Theroux despite the fact that he had been swimming for 11 hours before I got into the water!

After about two miles, as we approached the Mr. Hope Bridge, I raised my hand for a boat to pick me up.

It was dark now. There was this remarkable moment, during the shift change for the support kayaks, where all of us stood shivering in knit caps and warm up suits as we watched Trent swimming alone in the moonlight. At that point, he had been swimming for twelve and a half hours and had a daunting 16.5 miles left to swim in the dark, cold water.

It has been reported that Mr. Theroux finished his swim at 11:20 p.m. at Bowens Warf in Newport. That means that he swam 41.5 miles in 16 hours and 20 minutes.

It is estimated that his swim raised $30,000 for Spinal Cord Injury Research.

As I drove home that evening toward my warm house and a hot meal, it occurred to me that there might be a young person recently bound to a wheelchair who might never hear the name Trent Theroux.

He might never hear about the man who faced the cold, dark waters alone to provide him with hope.

Joe Sbardella

Barrington