25/09/2026
It has been quite a while since I last did an update within Autism On The Water - so I would like to share what is going on.
Our 10th Anniversary celebrations have not gone the way we would have liked - the dismasting of our Scottish Impala 28 severely impacted the rest of our season in Scotland which was a huge disappointment not just to us as a charity but also our sponsors and supporters and more importantly the young people who were looking forward to attending our events.
We can only apologise for the impact this situation has had on everyone involved, it has been a tough road for the team behind the scenes whilst we have dealt with this investigation, for which I would like to express my sincere thanks to Pete Caldwell, our Operations Manager who has taken care of all the communications with the insurance and other relevant parties - this personally has been a weight off my shoulders to allow me to try and get AOTW back on track as much as I could during the summer.
I am still very pleased however that despite all of what we went through, we still managed to get Autistic individuals and their families out on the water within Scotland and this would not have happened without the support of Pelican of London crinan_classic_charters and Crinan Canal Cruises who provided us use of their resources to help get people out on the water - my thanks go to all of them plus the volunteers who helped to make all this happen at such short notice.
Our South Coast branch continues to grow from our base in Cowes thanks to the incredible support of Cowes Town Waterfront Trust who have enabled us to operate by providing a free pontoon berth and winter storage which has allowed us to operate various sailings.
110 autistic families have managed to gain access to AOTW this year which considering what happened is a good healthy number and we expect that number to increase, which I will explain more below.
Autism On The Water will be entering a big change going into 2027 but whilst also ensuring our ethos of continuing to provide free of charge sailing remains the same.
Following the resignation of some of our trustees, I am pleased to say that we will be welcoming three new ones in due course, which I will release further details of in due course.
I as the Director of AOTW has taken up a new role within UKSA as a Learning Support Assistant and this has involved my wife and I relocating to Cowes from Scotland. It has been a big move for us, but a positive one and I personally look forward to continuing to develop the south coast side of the charity.
You may however ask, what about Scotland? As a Scottish registered charity, we are committed to prioritising Scotland, especially given how many communities rely on our services as a part of respite during the school holidays. And the big change with this will see AOTW entering the world of chartering fully equipped yachts for special activities and building partnerships with other charities and organisations to ensure our work continues to grow within Scotland. We are pleased to have had multiple discussions with organisations over the last few months and we would be delighted to welcome more people to get in touch with us about becoming a partner to help us provide free sailing.
The South Coast Branch will continue to operate as normal and I am pleased to announce that we have extended our season to DECEMBER to ensure we can make up for the sails we have lost due to bad weather or lack of volunteers. Volunteers are what makes things happen within AOTW and I would implore anyone who wants to join our fun and exciting schedule to get in touch with us.
Through the winter, these plans and ideas will be discussed amongst the trustees and our sponsors/supporters to ensure we can get the maximum out of every opportunity given to us and I will of course ensure that a full update is given in the next month or two and most importantly, we will be endeavouring to get dates and times out to people as early as possible.
Finally, as a person with Autism myself, this year has not been easy at all for me and there have been times I have simply wanted to give up on everything including AOTW - but that is just the easy and unacceptable way out and I can say that without the amazing support and generosity of my parents, Julie and Pete, I don't think AOTW would be in such a stable position without them - so from all of us, thank you Julie and Pete :)
I look forward to updating you with these exciting new plans and I thank you all again for your patience whilst we have navigated this tricky season.
Murray MacDonald
Director and CEO of Autism On The Water
MSIG
Studycat
Inland and Coastal Marina Systems Ltd
Saturn Sails
Cowes Town Waterfront Trust
Cowes Yacht Haven
The Foggy Pear Craft Company
Marlow Ropes
CWP Energy
Cloud Nine Yacht Charters
Professional Yacht Services Hong Kong
Rhu Marina
Tarbert Harbour
boatfolk
The Morrisons Foundation
Royal Yachting Association
RYA Scotland
RYA Sailability
