British skipper ready to compete in the Vendée Globe 2008
4th November 2008: British solo sailor Steve White today re-launched his IMOCA 60 yacht in Les Sables D’Olonne (France), announcing that he will compete under the new name of ‘Toe in the Water’. The tenacious skipper secured sufficient funds from a consortium of private backers at the eleventh hour to enable him to compete in the pinnacle ocean racing event. The funding has come from a group of like-minded supporters who together will provide the money privately and whose only request has been that Steve’s boat carries the branding and message of the Toe in the Water project with him around the world.
Steve (35, from Weymouth, Dorset), commented from onboard Toe in the Water: “I have dreamed of participating in the Vendée Globe for many years and have been building towards November 9 for the last four years. We managed to qualify by completing The Artemis Transat in May this year, but have struggled to find sufficient sponsorship. We arrived in Les Sables D’Olonne in October, unsure as to whether we could even keep hold of my family’s home, let alone sail alone around the world. With these new funds, we can finish the necessary preparations, and I am delighted to carry the name and colours of Toe in the Water around the world.”
The private sponsors first encountered Toe in the Water during Cowes Week 2008 and were inspired by the manner in which the servicemen had overcome serious injury. Many of the individual sponsors behind Steve are ex-servicemen or have past/existing links to the armed forces, and therefore wanted to help raise the profile of the project.
The private backers, who will remain anonymous, were equally inspired by Steve, who displayed similar characteristics to those servicemen that they had met through Toe in the Water. The backers therefore saw Steve’s Vendée Globe campaign as an opportunity to achieve two objectives: assisting Steve in achieving his dream and raising awareness for a worthwhile cause. The support is a philanthropic gesture as Steve will not benefit directly from the financing – it will allow him to participate in the Vendée Globe under the colours of Toe in the Water, thereby raising the profile of the worthwhile project.
Toe in the Water, which has not made any financial contribution to Steve’s campaign and will not be involved in the day-to-day management of the project, was honoured and grateful to be offered the opportunity to raise awareness of the competitive sailing initiative for injured servicemen and women in the UK.
Toe in the Water, established only six months ago, is a new project designed to use competitive sailing as an extension of the rehabilitation work carried out at UK’s Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court for as long as there are injured servicemen and women in need of support.
Holly King, the founder of Toe in the Water, concluded, “When we were approached by Steve’s backers and asked if they could use Steve’s campaign to raise awareness of our project, we were both surprised and delighted. We are honoured that Steve’s boat will be called Toe in the Water and will carry our colours on his sails and hull. We are committed to inspiring servicemen and women through competitive sailing, and hope that Steve’s story will inspire many more people all over the planet. We wish him the best of luck in this extraordinary endeavour.”
Toe in the Water has received huge support from many of the British IMOCA teams and skippers over the last six months, most notably Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) who invited two injured servicemen to join his crew during Cowes Week. Steve and his family also have links to the armed forces via their families and through their home in Weymouth, an important Military centre in the UK. Steve and his family are delighted to be involved with Toe in the Water, a campaign they have also followed closely since its launch in 2008.
For more information on Steve White, please visit www.whiteoceanracing.com
For more information on Toe in the Water, please visit www.toeinthewater.org
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