Win a 7 night Croatian Cruise

Aim

Win a 7 night Croatian Cruise for 2. The money raised will enable us to provide water safety training throughout the Bluetit community.

The Prize

Join an exclusive Bluetits Chill Swimmers swim adventure along the beautiful Dalmatian Coastline onboard a private yacht. A sensational prize donated by our new holiday partner Jules Verne.

Prize includes:

• A twin cabin for 2 onboard the MV Admiral private yacht
• Return flights from Heathrow
• 7-night cruise with daily swimming opportunities. 
• Breakfast daily, 5 lunches and 6 dinners, walking tours, Jules Verne representative, local expert guides, accompanied by two Bluetits representatives.
• Saturday 14th to 21st September
  

Day 1 - Split ➡ Day 2 - Hvar / Korčula ➡ Day 3 - Mljet ➡ Day 4 - Dubrovnik ➡ Day 5 - Pelješac Peninsula ➡ Day 6 - Pučišća ➡ Day 7 - Split ➡ Day 8 - Return Flight

Join Sian Richardson, founder of The Bluetits for this exciting adventure around Croatia:

Day 1 - Fly to Split, and transfer to the MV Admiral. Overnight in Split. (D)

Day 2 - Sail to the island of Hvar. Hvar Town’s marina brings mariners and modernity to a picture-perfect Old Town. Explore the old town or join our swim stop in the bays. Continue and sailto the island of Korčula, known for its forests, vineyards, and local white wine. A walking tour of the town is followed by a wine tasting, and dinner this evening is in a local restaurant. Overnight in Korčula. (B, L, D)

Day 3 – Continue south to the unspoilt, uncrowded island of Mljet. Spend a morning exploring this National Park, stroll by the salt lakes and discover the many wonders on the island. We tear ourselves away at the end of the day, sailing to Dubrovnik for an evening cruise around the old city walls. Overnight in Dubrovnik. (B, L, D)

Day 4 - Dubrovnik’s traffic-free Old Town is stunningly scenic. A day of discovery includes taking a cable-car for fabulous views over the ancient city and out to the Elaphiti Islands; a walking tour between beautiful Renaissance and Gothic palaces and an afternoon at leisure to enjoy a dip from a local beach. Overnight in Dubrovnik. (B)

Day 5 - Cruise toward the Pelješac peninsula. Swim from the shore at this quiet resort. Enjoy wine-tasting at the renowned Grgic winery and an entertaining Croatian Heritage Evening. Overnight at the Pelješac peninsula. (B, L, D)

Day 6 - Sail to Pučišća on Brac. We visit seaside Pučišća’s school of stone masonry and moor for the night. There is the most fabulous swim area close to the vessel mooring that we will explore in the afternoon and again before we depart in the morning. Enjoy the Captain’s dinner this evening. (B, L, D)

Day 7 - Enjoy a swim stop this morning enroute to Split. On arrival enjoy a walking tour including the magnificent, UNESCO listed, Diocletian Palace, built for a retiring Roman emperor and still dominating the city’s waterfront. Overnight in Split. (B, L, D)

Day 8 - Disembark this morning and travel to medieval Trogir, the island town connected by bridge to the mainland. There is time for a little independent exploration, before transferring to Split airport for your return flight. (B)

The abbreviations B, L and D indicate any included breakfast/lunch/dinner on each day.

Further details can be found here ➡️ https://www.vjv.com/bluetits/

Your trip will be part of an exclusive holiday brought to you by Jules Verne and The Bluetits - the yacht has been chartered exclusively as a Bluetit holiday. Places are limited to just 35 travellers. If you know you want to go you can book now and secure your place. If you also enter the Prize Draw and win Jules Verne will refund any amounts you have paid.

The Cause

The Bluetits is a worldwide community of swimmers and dippers brought together by a love of the water. From its humble beginnings in 2014 The Bluetits has strived to be inclusive to everyone no matter their background, ability, race, gender or beliefs. 

As we have grown we have seen thousands and thousands of people take to the water to try cold water dipping and the results have been amazing. In our 2023 survey 94% of our community said that being a Bluetit has had a positive effect on their mental health.

One thing we have been championing since the very beginning is how to enjoy the water safely, our safety guidance focuses on educating people to be able to take responsibility and make good decisions, which sometimes means not getting in at all. We aim to educate in a clear, concise and fun way using the extensive knowledge we have of cold water.

Our experience

Sian Richardson our founder is one of only 142 Extreme Ice Mile swimmers in the world (an Ice Mile is a mile in water under 5ºC in just a swimsuit). Sian is also a volunteer Water Safety Officer for the RNLI based in St Davids.

Makala Jones our head swim coach is a successful channel swimmer, STA level 2 Open Water Swim Coach, SLSGB Qualified Beach Lifeguard and an Aquatic Safety Qualification Trainer Assessor.

Our plans

Our plans are to make available training that is aimed at Bluetits, beginners and anyone who wants to try outdoor swimming.

In 2022 we granted bursaries to 20 people to gain their STA Level 2 Open Water Swim Coaching, we added additional training to this to make sure that these people would offer their training in Bluetit style, friendly and welcoming to all levels.

These coaches became Bluetits Approved Swim Coaches and now run their own small businesses offering introductions and swimming training all over the country.

We want to do more............

2024 is our year of water safety, a year where we embrace our safety motto of Don't Be a Tit Be a Bluetit.

Our overall goal is to provide safety training to every Bluetit who wants it, and to do that we need money. Some courses will be paid for, some partly subsidised and some free because in true Bluetit style we don't want money to be the barrier to access.

So what will we do with the money....

The money made from this fundraiser will allow us to provide the training needed to the people who will start running these courses for us and to start trialling the new course with our Bluetit Flocks. £2,500 will allow us to train a cohort of  up to 10 people to become trainers and to cover the whole country we are aiming for at least 20.

This project successfully funded on 5th February 2024