TOE IN THE WATER, the charity which uses competitive sailing as a vehicle to re-inspire injured servicemen and women, is pleased to announce that it has accepted the generous donation of the Farr 52 racing yacht, Bob, which has featured prominently on the racing circuit in recent years.

The current owners, Tony Hayward, Sam Laidlaw, and Rob Gray, have given the yacht to Toe in the Water to support the tri-service initiative which was founded in 2008 and have personally pledged funds to get her into tip top condition for the forthcoming season.

The 52-ft (15.8-metre) carbon-fibre performance racing yacht will be used to provide injured service personnel, all of whom have been profoundly wounded, including loss of limbs, with the opportunity to sail competitively at the highest level. Working in partnership with Headley Court, the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Toe in the Water will be able to accommodate a broader range of injuries following the acquisition of the yacht.

Major General Mike von Bertele, Chairman of Toe in the Water and Director General of the Army Medical Services said: “On behalf of everyone at Toe in Water I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for this extremely generous donation. The boat will provide an excellent platform for some of our more seriously injured people to rediscover their confidence and sense of adventure by reigniting their sense of self-worth in a competitive team environment.”

For the last four years Toe in the Water has borrowed or chartered boats to enter teams at challenging events on the yacht racing circuit and Major General von Bertele stressed that the charity had been careful to consider the risks and liabilities of taking on the ownership of such a major asset.

“We have carefully considered the associated expenditure and are confident that we will attract the funding to cover the increased running costs. With this in mind we are ready to welcome additional partners on board to help us get the most out of this exciting addition,” Major General Von Bertele said.

Formerly known as Bear of Britain, the boat has a long list of wins under her belt and was originally commissioned as the flagship vessel of an academy to develop talented young sailors. She was renamed Bob when she was purchased by Hayward, Laidlaw and Gray in 2009.

Tony Hayward said that he and his fellow owners had decided to donate the yacht to help Toe in the Water run their programme helping injured service personnel see beyond their injuries. “We’re delighted to be able to support the work of Toe in the Water by donating Bob and hope that she proves a useful asset for such a worthy cause. She’s a fast boat with a fine racing pedigree and we’re confident that her Toe in the Water crews will continue to push her hard to deliver top results,” Hayward said.

Toe in the Water’s Racing Director and serving Royal Engineer WO2, Lloyd Hamilton MBE, said: “Thanks to the extremely generous gift of this thoroughbred racing yacht, Toe in the Water will have the capability to offer inspiration to injured servicemen and women for years to come.”

Hamilton added that the open layout of the Farr 52 with two central grinding pedestals will enable Toe in the Water to offer competitive sailing opportunities to service personnel with a wider range of injuries.

“The good will and generosity that people show towards our Armed Forces continues to amaze me and their support for them through such acts of kindness is astounding,” Hamilton said.

The boat will be renamed Toe in the Water at a ceremony scheduled to be held at the Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Centre (JSASTC) in Gosport, Hampshire on Friday 23 March. Following the re-naming, there will be no delay in putting the newly acquired boat to good use, as she will be putting prospective volunteer crew through their paces the very next day at the charity’s annual crew selection weekend.

Over 170 people, mainly serving soldiers, sailors and airmen and women have expressed an interest in becoming crew volunteers for the upcoming season and a rigorous selection process on 24-25 March will identify the people who will sail alongside the injured crew in 2012 at the RORC Easter Challenge, the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week and the Garmin Hamble Big Boat Series.

Record breaking round the world sailor, Dee Caffari MBE, said she is looking forward to attending the naming ceremony of Toe in the Water later this month. “I’m proud to be an ambassador for Toe in the Water and I’ve been able to see first hand the positive impact that being back in a competitive environment can have on severely injured service personnel. Farr 52s are seriously exciting boats to sail and I know it will make a massive difference to the rehab of the extraordinary guys who sail with Toe in the Water to experience the adrenalin rush of racing on such a fast boat.”

Toe in the Water receives no statutory funding and relies on the generosity of individuals, companies and trusts. To find out more visit: www.toeinthewater.org

“It is an honour to be recognised for my achievements and support of the armed forces. I have enjoyed the links I have established and maintained with the Royal Navy and look forward to being presented with my uniform! Having not worn a uniform since school, I am excited about preparing for my role at Dartmouth, being fitted with a uniform and learning to salute correctly”

One of the main links Caffari has with the navy is through her work as an ambassador for the tri service initiative, Toe In The Water. The volunteer based charity uses competitive sailing as a direct extension of the rehabilitation programmes carried by the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Headley Court to re-inspire profoundly and traumatically injured service personnel to explore life beyond their injuries. Caffari first competed with Toe in the Water at the Dartmouth Regatta in 2009 and has continued to work closely with them since them, racing alongside many injured and able-bodied Royal Navy and Royal Marines crew members, as well as soldiers and airmen.

Director General of Army Medicine and Toe in the Water Chairman, Major General M von Bertele OBE commented:
“Dee has been a great inspiration to many of our injured servicemen and women and her energy, genuine enthusiasm and commitment to the work we do is invaluable. Its great to see her dedication and passion recognised in this way.”

Caffari’s next goal is to compete in the Vendée Globe 2012 with the intention of securing a podium position and the search for a new title sponsor to support her ongoing sailing campaign continues.

This year, Toe in the Water is competing in Class Zero. Bristling with professional sailors and high performance custom racing yachts, this is the big boat division at Cowes with eleven teams. These yachts race on an international circuit for 12 months of the year. Beating any of these teams would be considered a great success but achieving 5th place on the very first day of the regatta was an outstanding performance for Toe in the Water and has raised the expectations of the team.

Toe in the Water are also competing in the one-design J/80 Class. All of the 26’ sports boats are identical, which provides high adrenalin, close action racing. 26 yachts are competing including Big Toe, Little Toe and Top Toe.
After two races, Little Toe is lying a very credible 11th just a single point ahead of Big Toe in 12th. Giles Bradford is the skipper of Big Toe, a Sea King Helicopter pilot with the Royal Navy, Giles has just returned from a tour of Afghanistan.

“I have been sailing since I could walk but this is special.” Explained Giles. “Doing something I love and helping this fantastic cause is a perfect scenario for me. In the J/80 fleet, there is no where to hide, it is an intense battle where the will to win is as important as skill and perhaps that is where we have an advantage, ‘I can not’ is not a phrase you will hear from Toe in the Water. What is more before these people received their injuries they were part of a team and racing at Cowes Week has given them that ethos back. We go out to win every race and we get huge satisfaction in our success over the other yachts especially other yachts in our team, However, it is a constructive private battle, by sailing hard against each other we all raise our game. ”

Toe in the Water is celebrating its third birthday as the official charity for this year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. Twenty-one servicemen and women, thirteen of whom have been profoundly wounded, some sustaining loss of limbs, are competing at the event with the charity. Many of them have never been on a yacht before, let alone raced competitively but AAM Cowes Week is a crucial part of their rehabilitation programme.

Toe in the Water has a dedicated team of volunteers, led by Lloyd Hamilton who was recently awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his work alongside the injured servicemen and women. Solo round the world sailors, Dee Caffari MBE and Brian Thompson both of whom are ambassadors for Toe in the Water are sailing all week with the team.

For more information visit: www.toeinthewater.org