Paddle4Relief 2007

Paddle4Relief 2007 has raised over £3000.00 to date, with more sponsorship due. 80+ people registered to take part in the paddle to raise funds for the forgotten victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

Although the sun was out for most of the day, the sea conditions were less than favourable!

The day started off windy and wet. Hammering down with rain whilst setting up, but fortunately the sun soon shone on us, and dried everything out. We had only one rainsquall pushing through around 6pm, which cleared and made for a beautiful sunny evening.

The wind was a fresh westerly and made it difficult for some to hold their boards upright during the oh so important photo shoot!

The memorial circle was a huge success; as of course was the paddle, with paddlers from 8yrs to 60yrs taking part. There were fathers with their daughters on tandem boards. The majority of craft were, as you would expect, long boards! There were a few short boards, canoes, paddleboards, Rob Martin was on his stand up board and, two crazy, young surf lifesavers chose to swim it!

The paddle was shortened due to the conditions. Many of the experienced surfers and surf lifesavers could have made the full distance but, we went out as a group to do a community group paddle and that's what we did! The safety boats and stewards did a fantastic job keeping everyone together, and safe. A big thanks you to the members of the Saunton Surf Life Saving Club for their fantastic support as well.

Everyone soaked up the community atmosphere, commenting on the chilled vibe! They were entertained by the array of amazing talented musicians who volunteered to play for this special day whilst Stormin Norman's wife, and himself, slaved over the BBQ, and fed the 5000! Thanks to you both.

The awesome Amy Newton opened the proceedings followed by the dueting talents of Douglas E Powell and Nicky Green. Drain and Grumpy Old Men moved the tempo up a few levels before the extremely talented Moon (Kludo and friends) entertained the crowd with both musical talent and comedy! Douglas E Powell completed the evening's entertainment with his mellow acoustic sounds.

Daisy and Kenny, directed by Debs and Karen, combined to call out the extensive raffle!

Organiser, Tim Tanton, gave a heart felt thanks to all those that took part, helped out, and to the businesses that donated such a fantastic array of raffle prizes, with special thanks to Christies Estates for allowing the event to take place, and to Tiki International for their huge support and sponsorship.

The plan is still to return to the South east coast of Sri Lanka, and build a pre-school and community centre in the village of Komari. Lets hope there is a cease-fire with the civil war, which will allow me to return to Sri Lanka and continue the good work.