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Aldeburgh to Orford Fundraising Flotilla
Sunday 28th July
We are delighted you are taking part in our inaugural summer flotilla this Sunday. The forecast is looking great, your donations have been gratefully received and our planning team have been working hard to ensure the event runs smoothly and safely for 116 of you.
Below you'll find a few important details to help you to prepare.
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Bring a water bottle with you We all know single use plastic is a big no-no, so we won't be handing out plastic bottles of water at the start. There will be drinking water taps at Aldeburgh Yacht Club and on the safety boats, so please bring a refillable bottle with you.
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Personal Belongings Please keep your valuables at home. Whilst there will be facilities for you to leave your dry clothes and personal belongings with us, we strongly recommend these are kept to the minimum as they will be left at your own risk.
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Briefing at 9am sharp Our Event Director, Mark Nicholls, will be briefing all participants before you get changed and set off, so please arrive at Aldeburgh Yacht Club in plenty of time so we can adhere to the planned start times. Look out for our volunteer marshalls in their high-vis vests to guide you as you arrive.
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Cancelled Event The weather forecast for the weekend is looking great but of course there are never any guarantees. Our Healthy & Safety Team will check the conditions forecast on Saturday 27th July and we will email you if it is necessary to cancel the flotilla. We sincerely hope this is an email we won't have to send.
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Need a lift back? We have two minibuses booked to ferry participants from the finish back to Aldeburgh Yacht Club. The Aldeburgh based safety boats may also help with giving lifts back to the start. If you indicated you would like a lift back to Aldeburgh when you signed up to the flotilla, but have since changed your mind, please do let us know.
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Can't make it? If you have entered the flotilla but your plans have changed, it would be very helpful if you could let us know. Please email us here. Thank you.
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The Route If you'd like to familiarise yourself with the flotilla route in advance of Sunday, please have a look at this sketched map HERE. Full course instructions are available HERE and we encourage you to have a read of these in advance of Sunday. Please stick to the course at all times.
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Safety First If our safety boats feel you cannot finish the course by 1.30pm they will pick you up. Please remember it is absolutely fine to ask for help along the route if you need a breather. Doctors will be on call and we will have a team of First Aiders in Orford. You may encounter some jellyfish along the way but these are gentle jellies and non-stinging.
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Sign In, Sign Out All participants will be provided with a high-vis numbered swimming cap (elite and recreational swimmers) or baseball cap (paddlers) when signing in at Aldeburgh Yacht Club. All participants MUST sign out at the Orford finish. Everyone must be accounted for before we can all go home.
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Gift Aid It Adding Gift Aid to your flotilla donation means we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give - at no extra cost to you. For each paddler that's an additional £7.50 on your £30 donation and for a swimmer that's a further £12.50 on top of £50 we have received. If you confirmed we can claim Gift Aid on your donation when you signed up to the flotilla, please confirm your post code when you sign in on Sunday. Our flotilla fundraising target is £13,000 and Gift Aid will help us reach this.
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Finally - and this is very important - please have a wonderful day along our treasured estuary.
From the Trustees and flotilla committee, a heartfelt thank you.
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If you use social media, please do like/follow/share/ tweet our @SOSestuary posts and help spread the word. There are many people who love the estuary area but are not residents, and social media is a very effective way to reach many of them and encourage them to support the campaign too. The Facebook, Twitter and Instagram icons below will take you directly to our pages.
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