Well, the bank holiday weekend just flew by – quite literally with gusts of up to 40 mph around the coast! And with it came our Open Day on Sunday 26th August 2018.
It has to be said that our volunteers, guests and supporters were amazing, all coming along to make the day special despite the best efforts of the weather to wash us all away! You could tell how the weather was shaping up from 8.30 a.m. when our on-the-day preparations began …
Special thanks for entertainment go to Hall and Blokes who managed to keep things lively with some great musical entertainment, and to Rye Town Crier Paul Goring for coming along, adding his voice to the event and drawing the grand raffle for us.
The raffle included gifts and donations from many of our supporters. Overall, there are far too many people to thank for the day than there’s space here, so please take a peep at our Thank You board which was out on the day (tied securely to the railings, so the wind couldn’t remove it).
Our Sponsors and Donors page is currently under construction and will offer a full list of local businesses and individuals who are helping to keep us afloat – link to be added shortly.
We haven’t finished all of the accounts for the day yet, but a preliminary count-up indicates that we’ve managed to achieve over £1,000 in funds raised, which is amazing considering the weather conditions. We really couldn’t have done it without all of the support we’ve received ~ thank you all very much!
And of course as the count up ends, the count down to next year begins.
Watch this space for further updates and a huge thank you once again to everyone who’s helping to support us as we support the coastal community and its visitors.
Another busy morning of training down at the base today! The boat house was given over to a wonderful crew of friendly and talented artists exhibiting work for sale in support of us – thanks so much to all of you for your support.
With the boat house being extra busy, this gave us a good chance to focus today’s training session on land rather than using the boat and launch vehicles. So radio and geographical co-ordinate and bearings practice were the ideal aspects for experienced crew members to support new trainees in learning.
From the base, two separate crew teams were dispatched across the Pett area with radios, in order to practice radio calls, responding to and reporting co-ordinates and in reporting conditions / geographical positions accurately so that locations can be identified even without specif co-ordinates (as can arise in rescue situations).
Trainee volunteers are all working hard to complete the training requirements needed to become fully fledged crew members and radio practice is a vital part of this. Many volunteers are also in the process of taking their formal marine radio course so today’s training also supports their progress in this.
We’ve also been finalising plans for next week’s gala Open Day, so please pop the date onto the calendar and come along to see us … you’re assured of a warm welcome, fun, games and entertainment and a display using both boats. See you then!
The big news this week is that during last Sunday’s training, we had a visit from representatives of one of the local branches of Sainsbury’s.
The group were from the Station Plaza, Hastings branch of Sainsbury’s and they came to explore what Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat is all about, including what we do ~ and how we do it. And the reason behind it all? Our visitors really wanted to see what goes on and why fundraising is so important to us because we’ve been nominated as the Station Plaza branch’s Local Charity of The Year, to help out with our Reserve Launch Vehicle Fundraiser.
The timing of the tide on Sunday meant that the recent exceptionally low tides at training time gave way to a fast-incoming tide which was particularly rocking and rolling when it came to getting the boat in and out (not to mention the crew during crew changes)!
As usual, the tractor (and Kev) played a vital role in getting the boat launched and gave our guests the chance to see why it is essential that there is always a working tractor when it comes to getting the boat safely up and down the shingle ridge to the shore.
And the great news? After a morning spent with base and boat crews, committee members and trustees, the Station Plaza, Hastings branch of Sainsbury’s announced that they would be extremely happy to help us with raising the £12,000 target for our Reserve Launch Vehicle fundraiser.
Many thanks for the visit everyone and we look forward to bringing regular updates from our honourary Sainsbury’s Station Plaza crew (look out for our dedicated page on this coming soon)!
Exciting news! Local event company, Dynamic Conferences & Events Ltd, have launched a PLIRB fundraiser Dynamic Dragons and are busy raising the funds needed to take part in the 21st Annual Dragon Boat Festival at Bewl Water on 8th September 2018.
PLIRB crew member Jo Stapley, who also happens to work for Dynamic Events, shares that £2,000 has to be raised in advance so that the Dynamic Dragons can take part in the Dragon Boat Festival so now the race is on to get this money raised by 8th September!
Dynamic Conferences & Events Ltd have started their own fundraising efforts through pub quizzes and a car boot sale, and have very kindly promised to match-fund the amounts raised at these events. However, there’s a long way to go and we really need the help of Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat friends to get this exciting fundraiser afloat by meeting this £2,000 target. Online donations for the initial £2,000 can be found at the Dynamic Dragons Go Fund Me page, and we’ll be offering weekly updates between now and the big day to keep you all informed on how the fundraising’s going.
The aim on the day is that a combined 16-strong crew from Dynamic Events and PLIRB will take part in the festival, which includes races and competitions. Yes, 16 in a boat sounds like a squash, and there’s bound to be plenty of splashing, but it’s certainly going to be a fun day and if the initial funds are successfully raised it holds the potential to be a great day out and lots of entertainment for anyone else who’s at the event.
All help to get this fundraiser underway would be gratefully received!
Not long now until our Gala Open Day on 26th August 2018. We’ll be open from 12 noon to 4 pm on the day, with stalls, entertainments, events and a display by boat crews at 1 pm. Look, we’ve already got the banners out …
Some of the entertainment will be provided by Hall and Blokes Ukulele band and we’ve just had news that Rye Town Crier, Paul Goring, is hoping to make a guest appearance during the afternoon.
Everyone involved in the Pett Level Rescue Boat is working hard to help with preparations and you can help too by letting your friends and family know about the event and by coming along to support us. We’re an independent rescue boat and meet our own costs through constant fundraising, so all support is appreciated. We’re down at the boathouse every Sunday morning and any donations of tombola prizes – particularly bottles – are still being gratefully received.
Keep an eye on the website and our Facebook page for further updates but in the meantime, we’re looking forward to seeing you on the day!
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