Toe in the Water supported by the Endeavour Fund

Tri service initiative, TOE IN THE WATER, is delighted to announce that their entry into this year's JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race will be supported by the Endeavour Fund, an initiative created by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The Hampshire based charity has been awarded a grant from the Endeavour Fund which will co-fund the entry of two boats in the annual JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race on Saturday 1st June.

Nick Booth, Chief Executive of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry:

"The Endeavour Fund is delighted to support the Toe in the Water team in the Round the Island Race. We hope that this race, and our future Endeavours, will inspire many more wounded Servicemen and women to explore new physical challenges as part of their recovery. We wish the Toe in the Water team the very best of luck."

Using competitive sailing as a rehabilitation tool, tri service initiative TOE IN THE WATER, aims to re-inspire the men and women of our Armed Forces who have sustained profound and traumatic injuries often including the loss of limbs, to move beyond their injury and become re-inspired by life.

The tri service initiative will be competing on their own Farr 52, TOE IN THE WATER, which will be skippered by record breaking round the world yachtswoman, Dee Caffari MBE. Dee, who is an ambassador for the charity, will be joined by a number of injured servicemen for the 50 mile sprint around the Isle of Wight.

Caffari said, "This is such a fantastic event and I am delighted that we will be lining up on the start line thanks to a combination of the generous award from the Endeavour Fund and the on-going support of our volunteers and donors. The JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race is a very competitive environment and it can get quite tense out on the water due to the sheer numbers of boats taking part. I am sure that the whole crew will be hugely motivated to put in a performance that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will be proud of."

In addition to Toe in the Water, a second yacht has been generously loaned to the charity by keen supporter, Tony Langley. The Farr 42 will race under the name Toe in the Water Too for this event and will be skippered by Toe in the Water's Racing Director and serving Royal Engineer, Captain Lloyd Hamilton MBE.

"Every year we are humbled by the generosity of our supporters. Tony is once again lending us his yacht, Atomic, which enables us to offer a racing experience to an increased number of injured service personnel. With the additional support of the Endeavour Fund, we feel incredibly proud and hope that this will translate into great results for both our boats out on the water."

For injured service personnel, many of whom have been wounded in active service in Afghanistan and Iraq, participation in a TOE IN THE WATER programme acts as an extension to their rehabilitation process, giving them the chance to compete in sailing at a high level and improve their self-confidence and outlook on life. With medical support on hand both on and off the water, the patients race with and against able bodied crew and are able to push themselves out of their comfort zones enabling them to recognise their own capabilities.

The balance of the funding which will enable the wounded and injured service personnel to compete in this prestigious yacht race has been received from TOE IN THE WATER'S most long standing corporate supporter, Artemis Investment Management. TOE IN THE WATER receives no statutory funding and relies entirely on voluntary contributions from individuals, trusts and companies. The swell of public support in particular from the sailing world has been phenomenal; it is with this backing and that of the military that competitive campaigns like TOE IN THE WATER will continue to succeed and help meet the needs of our injured servicemen and women.

www.toeinthewater.org