COVID 19 Update 2021

COVID 19 Update
Wednesday 13 th January 2021
I would like to begin this update by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and very best wishes
for 2021. 2020 has been a year which has tragically taken its toll for everyone thanks to the
difficulties with the Coronavirus Pandemic. AOTW send everyone who has been affected by the
pandemic our very best wishes to all and will gladly offer support to anyone who requires it during
this time. The recent return to lockdown has brought down to earth the severity of the situation that
the world is facing right now and whilst the new vaccination program is well underway which will
provide us eventually with a way out of this pandemic, we need to be prepared for even further
restrictions, cancellations etc. over the next few months which I will set out in this letter.
New Email Address
We have a new email address aotwofficial0@gmail.com – all enquiries and anything involving
AOTW should be sent to this email address from now on.
Racing 2021
At the present time, AOTW is scheduled to take part in a number of races with our Hunter 707 with
the following regattas to be entered which are –
707 Edinburgh Cup
Kip Regatta
Scottish Series
Mudhook Regatta
Bangor Town Regatta

Round Mull Race
West Highland Yachting Week or the Hunter 707 UK National Championships
At the moment with the current situation, we are in just now, we are very unsure presently how this
year is going to plan out. The difficulties of running regattas at the moment is the current social
distancing measures and household mixing which just does not make events viable currently. As
mentioned previously the current Vaccination program is well underway in the UK and the
government is promising to really ramp out this program to allow life to return as close to normal as
we possibly can! We have indicated an interest to enter these events as, if and when they run but have
not officially entered them currently. The 707 is currently wintering in the shed and will be pulled out
at a moments notice to return to the water when it is permitted to do so! We will keep everyone
updated and we are prepared for any changes but until we are notified, we are still planning to be at
these events!
New Cruising Yacht
The talk of our social media page the last couple of months has been the very exciting announcement
of our new cruising yacht – a Colvic Victor 34 motorsailer currently in storage at Port Edgar Marina
Ltd. The yacht has been bought to provide even more regular sailing activity for people with autism of
all ages from children to adults! The yacht is well built to provide these activities with both indoor
and outdoor steering facilities, deep cockpit, many sail options etc. The support for this project has
been unbelievable and we are forever indebted to those who helped fund the purchase of the boat from
sponsorship to individual donations to donations on our GoFundMe page – we raised the whole sum
to purchase the boat in a remarkable 27 hours! The yacht is undergoing works to be launched for the
water in April.
New Brochure
We have launched a new brochure for 2021 outlining all our planned activities with our new yacht
which are all obviously subject to COVID-19 restrictions. The link is below for those who wish to
read it.
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/65187921/brochure-2021

Crinan Canal Festival
Our delayed AOTW Crinan Canal Festival is scheduled for the 22 nd -23 rd May. Full details are on our
brochure. We would like to point out that Argyll Backpackers is available for accommodation for the
Saturday night at a cost of £22 per person. First come, first served. The charity has paid for this
upfront, so we are looking to fill the hostel up for us to reclaim the funds. Please contact us for further
information.
Going Forwards and Financial Situation
Charities do not happen without hard work and AOTW is like every other charity behind the scenes.
The amount of work involved in running this organisation is massive and with it growing every day,
the workload increases. I do much of the work on my own from home but also with help from not just
my fantastic team of Trustees but also individuals who generously give up their time to help me bring
you Autism on the Water. I am deeply grateful to all of them for the time they give to this charity.
Going forwards, despite the pandemic, AOTW is in a very positive position currently. Our Facebook
following is now nearing 6,000 likes, we have bought another yacht and we are finally heading down
the right track to provide more opportunities to not just regular activities for autistic people but also
for volunteers. We are currently recruiting for up to 6 qualified volunteer skippers for the new yacht.
Details of which you can find below by clicking the link
https://www.facebook.com/job_opening/698986224312696/?source=share
Financially, we are doing okay. The charity is currently working on preparing for the end of the
financial year at the end of January with both the preparation of accounts, the OSCR return and also
for the first-time submitting Companies House and Corporation Tax Return. The work involving all of
this is substantial and takes many hours to prepare and stuff that I most certainly cannot do alone – so
I really must pay my sincerest thanks to Julie Caldwell, Ian Hards and Gordon Lawson for all their
help in this. We are extremely privileged to have this help from Julie, Ian and Gordon for this saves us
a substantial amount of funds if we use accounting companies and the three of them do this for us in
their own time for nothing.
Despite the fact that AOTW is in a stable situation financially, we really do need more support
financially. We are very grateful to all our current sponsors and supporters who have remained
committed to the charity however understandably – they have also found this pandemic difficult
where funds are concerned and as a gesture of respect for their support we have held back on asking
them for any funds due. Now we face a situation where we really do need support now more than ever
with two boats to upkeep which includes insurance and storage fees plus in addition we also have

administrative costs towards some of our Companies House paperwork using the solicitors Murray
Beith Murray who do our confirmation statement on our behalf.
Basically, we really need more help, and we are appealing to all of our followers for this. We offer a
range of attractive returns for any sponsorship support such as flags, stickers on the boats, invitation
to corporate days etc. Your support is absolutely crucial in keeping AOTW going to enable us to
provide opportunities to people with autism and raise awareness of the spectrum through sailing. We
have a JustGiving Page which is live and where individuals can donate if they wish -
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/aotwsupport
We are on the lookout for a sponsor to help us get our new yacht ready for the water. Whilst the yacht
is actually in a reasonable condition, there is still a lot of work to do on the interior to bring the yacht
up to scratch to make it watertight and ready for launching. We have a contractor all ready to do the
work as we are unable to work together as a group due to COVID. We need to raise in the region of
£6,000 to cover all the costs of the restoration which includes the purchase of our new sails which has
been heavily discounted by charity supporters Owen Sails.
If you would like to sponsor AOTW with this project in return for full advertising and indeed any
requirements or wishes you might have then please do not hesitate to contact us. The quicker we can
get the boat in the water, the quicker we can provide this service for autistic people as lockdown starts
to ease which we hope will begin in the spring!
Conclusion
Finally, I know this is really a tough start to 2021. I cannot imagine what everyone must be going
through from those isolated alone, those who have been lost to the virus, the NHS etc. I once again
send all my best wishes to each and everyone who is struggling with this pandemic. Some of you on
social media especially those in Edinburgh may have seen that I have been doing soup deliveries for
the local community on The Meadows Share Facebook page to anyone who is self-isolating, alone or
in general anyone who wants one! That offer applies to AOTW supporters as well so please message
me if you would like a soup! No payment is wanted but a click of the like button on Facebook if you
are new to AOTW or a small donation on the charity’s JustGiving Page!
I wish all of you for what I hope will be a better year and hopefully a return to normality as soon as
possible and I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your continued support to Autism on
the Water.

Murray MacDonald
Director and Founding Trustee of Autism on the Water
www.autismonthewater.co.uk
www.facebook.com/autismonthewater
We are forever grateful to ALL of our sponsors and supporters for their continued support
of Autism on the Water!