Despite the gentle easing of lockdown and the slow return to a different kind of ‘normal’, CV19 continues to have an impact. 

Certainly the impact on public health and safety has been major and the ripple effect of the lockdown has been wide. From our own perspective, this ripple effect has had a significant impact on our ability to prepare for our planned events. So, the Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat committee is sad to share that we’ve had to officially cancel our forthcoming events.

As many will know, our Open Day planned for May 2020 was postponed early into the lockdown. However, we remained hopeful of maybe holding the event later in the year. Similarly, we’d been planning a series of events and activities, including a major celebration, to mark this year’s 50th Anniversary of our rescue service. Clearly, with the ongoing CV19 situation, we need to confirm that these events have now been fully cancelled in 2020, rather than postponed.

This decision has been taken after careful consideration of the impact of CV19 on public health and safety, as well as on our ability to plan and deliver events.

Safety and protection – on the coast and in the community

The safety of the public and of course our volunteers is of course particularly important to us. After all, we’re here to serve and protect local coastal communities and visitors alike – it’s what we do. So we’ve been very mindful of the guidance and advice in respect of gatherings.

Additionally, because coronavirus and the outcome of the pandemic on UK as a whole is still revealing itself, it feels far too soon to be able to predict future risks. It’s with this in mind that we’ve had no option but to cancel our events and community fundraising calendar for this year.

In terms of our operational activities, we remain available 24/7 for rescue when tasked. With the latest round of lockdown loosening, our volunteers are looking forward to being able to return in limited numbers at the boathouse for our Sunday sessions.  From there, it may be possible to start planning for smaller activities once the summer moves on. However, all of those bigger events will move to 2021. But don’t worry, we’ll certainly be looking to make the most of the extra planning time so that we can share these special moments with our volunteers, friends and supporters.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and please keep in touch with us through our online methods … we do have a special announcement coming up for July! 

Whilst you’re here …

As a charity, everyone who’s involved in our independent rescue service is a volunteer. Our team constantly fundraise to cover all of our running costs, but CV19 has had a major impact on our ability to fundraise in the community.

If you like the work we do and would like to support us, please consider a donation. Even the smallest donation helps and could make a real difference to those in danger on our local coastline.

Thank you so much, from the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.