Toe in the Water - now it’s our turn
Steve White finished in eighth position in a Vendée Globe which destroyed the chances of many very experienced skippers and their sponsors. That was a brilliant achievement in itself, but his participation in the event was dead in the water until just before he arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne a few days before the start. He had no sponsor.
While he was on the way to Les Sables, his wife Kim succeeded in finalising arrangements for the charity Toe in the Water to provide enough funding for him to take part in the Vendée Globe. If I were looking for sponsorship, I have to admit that a charity is not one of the places I’d have thought of looking. Why would a charity want to sponsor an unproven competitor in a three-month-long yacht race where history showed that at least one in three would drop out before getting half way, and several were unlikely to last more than a few days?
[Thanks again to Peta Stuart-Hunt of PR Works for reminding me of the facts, which had faded out of my geriatric memory. It was a consortium of backers that came up with the sponsorship at the last minute, and stipulated the condition that Steve change his boat's name to Toe in the Water. That seems a very philanthropic move - in effect, they were donating publicity to a charity, and I'd be very surprised if the tax authorities gave them credit for that in the way they would if they'd donated the money directly to Toe in the Water]
Anyway, Toe in the Water is about sailing. Here’s their mission statement:
The tri-service initiative TOE IN THE WATER (TITW) aims to inspire the men and women who have sustained often traumatic injuries, including the loss of limbs, to move beyond their disability and to become re-inspired by life. Competitive sailing is a physically and mentally challenging adventurous sport and provides a unique opportunity for injured men and women to sail and race on equal terms with their able-bodied contemporaries.
TOE IN THE WATER was only launched in August 2008 but already it has built an extraordinary following in the sailing circuit. Since the idea first formed in the head of Holly King, a military physiotherapist based in the physiotherapy department at Headley Court between Mar 06 and Oct 08, interest and support for the project has gone from strength to strength.
Vendée Globe finalist Brian Thompson invited two of the injured servicemen to join as race crew on Bahrain Team Pindar for the Artemis Challenge. Artemis have also offered to host a sailing day on their open 60 in Spring 2009, and offers to coach or race with TOE IN THE WATER continue to flood in from medal-winning Olympians to Match Racing European and world champions.
Now it’s our turn. Let’s do what we can to help both Steve and Toe in the Water to continue in their respective missions.
Mike, I am sorry but I was looking through some of your recent postings and, yet again, you have got your facts wrong in this story - where are you getting your material from on which to comment so publicly but inaccurately?
Toe in the Water - a CHARITY - does not have the money to sponsor a sailor racing in the Vendee Globe!
This sponsorship came about owing to a last minute donation from a consortium of anonymous donors who provided Steve White the shortfall in money required to compete, but asked that he rename the boat and give any publicity to the charity.
Thanks again, Peta. Clearly, I need to improve my researching skills, and not make guesses from what I do manage to find. I haven’t time to correct the errors tonight, but will do so tomorrow - and credit you for helping out.