Petersburg Catholic High School, dreamed of being a SEAL. But as any veteran of the U.S. Navy’s elite Special Forces unit will tell you, to make muster, you must conquer cold water. So Terry Tomalin, the outdoors-fitness editor for the St. Petersburg Times, suggested the 17-year-old accompany him on a swim across Tampa Bay. Tomalin and some friends at Clearwater Beach Safety had made the crossing several times in fall of 1996. That’s when the proverbial light bulb went off in the head of Commander Dan O’Shea USNR. O’Shea, a former SEAL who had been mentoring Farnan since the boy was 10-years-old, suggested they turn the New Year’s swim into a fundraiser for a SEAL officer who had recently been wounded in Afghanistan. O’Shea enlisted the help of Lt. Mark Lampman, an active duty SEAL, and together the four organized the first Tampa Bay Frogman Swim. Conditions were harsh – the water temperature hovered in the high 50s – but nearly 40 swimmers managed to make it across the bay and raise thousands of dollars in individual pledges for the injured SEAL officer, Lt. Dan Cnossen and his family. After the success of the 2010 event, former SEAL and swim coach Rory O’Connor assumed the role of race director. Then, along with triathlete/swimmer Kurt Ott, son of the legendary SEAL Norm Ott, webmaster Doug Santo, another SEAL veteran, volunteer coordinator Annie Okerlin, O’Shea and Tomalin, they put together a follow up to the successful inaugural event. The 2nd annual Frogman Swim attracted 67 registrants who braved the frigid waters of Tampa Bay and raised $53,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation which benefits the families of wounded and fallen SEALs. This 2011 race was sanctioned as an official 5K open-water swim by both USA Swimming and U.S. Masters Swimming. To date, the event has now raised over $6M for the Navy SEAL Foundation, including $940k in the 2022 event. We’ve also added a Boston Frogman Swim held every June.
