Toe In The Water – 2010 Programme Announced.

We tend to focus on the big-business end of the sport of sailing on this site, but yacht racing as a platform can be used for all kinds of ends. It’s nice then to be able to report on a sailing project that promotes the benefits of yacht racing over and above pure financial ROI or relentless mercenary greed for a piece of silverware.

TOE IN THE WATER is a non-profit organisation which uses sailing as a vehicle to re-inspire injured servicemen and women, many of whom have been wounded in active service in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who are currently being treated at Headley Court, the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre.

The aim of the initiative is simple; to provide injured servicemen and women with a challenging, demanding environment in which they can compete on an equal footing with their peers. Yacht racing provides one of the few arenas in which people with traumatic injuries can compete against and alongside able-bodied people. It is ideal, not least because there is a wide range of different roles onboard, providing different physical and mental challenges.

TOE IN THE WATER recieved worldwide attention when Steve White received much needed backing for his Vendee Globe campaign in return for promoting the charity.

Chairman, Major General Mike von Bertele OBE has launched the charity’s 2010 racing programme. Racing in 2010 will build on the success of the first two years of operation, during which more than fifty profoundly and traumatically injured service personnel were inspired through competitive sailing.

TOE IN THE WATER will be entering eight events in 2010. The programme comprises the RORC Easter Regatta, the J80 National Championships, the J-Cup, the JP Morgan Round the Island Race, Sailing for Heroes Regatta, Cowes Week, the Jersey Regatta and the J80 Autumn Championships.

The 2009 Season saw TOE IN THE WATER ambassadors Brian Thompson and Dee Caffari join the Toe crews at Cowes Week and the Dartmouth Regatta. Caffari said after Dartmouth:

“Sailing with the TOE IN THE WATER crew was a unique experience for me and one I hope I will repeat in the future. These guys will give everything to be at the front of the fleet. It was true competitive racing at its best.”

Multiple world record holder Brian Thompson, who has been involved with the initiative since the outset, said:

“Every time I have gone out with TOE IN THE WATER I have been blown away by their talent and aptitude for sailing and their super positive attitude. The TOE IN THE WATER team is dynamic, energetic and making its mark on sailing regattas all over the UK. The charity has brought fun and competition to both the injured servicemen and women, and the volunteers who love to be involved. I am looking forward to racing with them again in 2010.”

Lloyd Hamilton is the Director of Racing said:

“From a sailing perspective it has cemented the fact that it really is a sport for anyone from the novice to the expert to enjoy. It also instils a firm belief in team work and the importance of it. Everyone who has served in the forces will understand that at some point in a military career you will rely upon your comrades alongside you. This initiative and the results our teams achieve show just how important this factor is.”

TOE IN THE WATER is holding a selection weekend to recruit experienced able-bodied racers to its Core Crew. Volunteers are asked to commit to two events in the upcoming season and are invited to ‘try out’ for a place by attending the weekend (6-7 March 2010). Anyone interested in getting involved in the Core Crew or in fundraising for TOE IN THE WATER should contact info@toeinthewater.org.

Steve White Finishes to Cheers in France and Silence in the UK.

Steve White has become the 8th finisher out of 30 competitors in the prestigious Vendée Globe, the solo, non-stop, round-the-world sailing race. While the BBC reported that the sailor “was greeted by his wife, Kim, and his children.” He returned after 109 days alone at sea, to an incredible reception in Les Sables D’Olonne, France, with crowds as large as 50,000 people lining the harbour walls.

At the time of writing, the UK media response to Steve’s feat was pretty poor. The Times, The Telegraph and the Daily Mail had no mention of the story. The Guardian story online ran to five whole sentences. The difference between the way France and England respond to the race is stark.

White said about the French crowds:

” Sailing is a way of life here, and it doesn’t seem to be like that in England and that’s a shame, and it has been overlooked in the media which is a shame, it’s not like that over here, I’m not seeking to be famous or anything like that, but to have support like this, and support with the boat, it’s something we don’t get in England, which is a shame.”

While all stories in the Vendee Globe are interesting for a wider public audience, Steve’s story is newsworthy for the fact that he had to re-mortgage his house some four times to fund his dream; the fact that he only gained enough sponsorship to actually be able to compete in the week before the start, back on 9th November 2008; and that of 30 starters 18 sailors failed to complete the race through a combination of injuries or damage to their boat.

Steve’s boat, Toe in the Water, was joined by a flotilla of around 200 boats of varying shapes and sizes. A large banner was draped over the harbour wall that read: ‘Thanks Steve. You made us dream.’ It summed up perfectly the affection that the locals have for him, and his family.

Today Steve said,

“I am just so amazed to finally be here. It’s everything I dreamt it would be and more. I cannot thank my family, friends, sponsors and the people of France enough. Thank you France for looking after my family while I was away, I don’t know what the French word for ‘humbled’ is, but that is how your welcome and support have made me feel.”

As for the future, Steve’s plans are fixed:

“I’ll be back in 2012 to compete again, and then in 2016. I’ll have a new boat and I’d really quite like to win. If any of you have ever had even a small dream about competing in the Vendee Globe, I urge you to do it. It will exceed all your dreams, it is the best sporting event in the world and I don’t think there can be a feeling like this anywhere else.”

Steve’s boat is named Toe in the Water after the charity that promotes the rehabilitation of injured servicemen through competitive sailing. This came about due to a last minute donation from a consortium of anonymous donors who provided White the shortfall in money required to compete, but asked that he rename the boat and give any publicity to the charity.

Take a look at this video. This crowd turned out days after the winners had crossed the line to welcome a man who came 8th. There are not many sports where that happens.

Steve White\’s Arrival at the Finish of the Vendee Globe on Toe in the Water

Let the Race (for coverage) Begin

With the start of the Vendee Globe today, the media releases have kicked up a gear, with PR agencies trying to get the most for their teams in the increasing noise. Today we have a quick look at the online offer of the UK entrants. 

Dee Caffari Aviva – www.avivaoceanracing.com

We’ve praised the brand activation skills of this team in the lead up to the Vendee Globe. The team website has all the latest toys – blog, video, wallpaper downloads and even a mobile site. Getting to aviva from the site is a little tricky though.

www.aviva.com has a link from the home page (below the fold) to a dedicated microsite www.avivaoceanracing.com/avivachallenge/

Mike Golding – Ecover – www.mikegolding.com

All the things that should be there including a link to main sponsor ecover from the top of the page. Also a competition.

www.ecover.com/gb/en/ homepage has no mention of the Vendee Globe or sponsorship of Mike Golding. With a couple of clicks you can get to a microsite: www.ecover-vendeeglobe.com/

Sam Davies – Roxy – www.roxysailing.com

We love the look and feel of this website. It’s young and cool – everything you would expect from an action sports fashion brand for girls. It is lacking some of the interactivity of other sites though.

http://www.roxy-europe.com/en/Home.html has a link to the site from the homepage. Though ‘below the fold’ it is easy to find.

Jonny Malbon – Artemis – www.artemisoceanracing.com

Clean, simple to navigate. Video and subscription to news updates. Link to sponsor in main navigation.

www.artemisonline.co.uk/ has a small tout on the homepage linking to the sponsorship.

Brian Thompson – Pindar – www.teampindar.com

All the goodies. The main feature of the homepage features a race tracker which doesn’t work in all browsers, but solidly professional. Links to the main sponsor Kingdom of Bahrain visible.

www.pindar.com/ has a tiny link at the bottom of the homepage about teampindar, but no mention of sailing.
2 or 3 clicks from the main menu gets to a page about the involvement, which is strange considering how large a part of the marketing mix sailing plays for the company.

Outside of sailing news sites, we found it extremely difficult to find anything linking back from the kingdom of Bahrain to the Vendee Globe.

Alex Thomson – Hugo Boss – www.alexthomsonracing.com

Cool carbon fibre effect website with all the latest multimedia bits and pieces. Link to Hugo Boss in main navigation (though nav is a little tricky). The brand values ooze throughout this website.

We did manage to kind the microsite, www.hugoboss-sailing.com/ from the main Hugo Boss website. Although it has some great stuff like beautiful wallpaper downloads of the boat, all navigation is removed which is a pain.

Steve White – Toe in the Water – www.toeinthewater.org/vendee/

Considering the battle that Steve had to get to the start line, his website is everything to be expected. Busy with preparations to the boat his personal site, www.whiteoceanracing.com, needs a few tweaks to promote the cause that he will be championing, ‘toe in the water.’

The charity on the other hand is up to speed with the campaign. www.toeinthewater.org/ has a link to a page with up to date livery and news.

Sebastien Josse – BT Team Ellen - www.btsebjosse.com

Part of the massively capable OC Group, which includes a dedicated multimedia agency, you would expect the online offer to be state of the art. It will be interesting to see how the combination of a French Skipper sailing for an English team will be picked up. Though Ellen Macarthur will be able to put an English spin on things, the UK media to date has been talking about the seven british sailors in the event and have dropped BT Team Ellen from much of their coverage. The website if anything is too busy – so much information packed onto the screen. Big clickable links to a BT microsite with it’s own URL www.biggerthinking.com/en/bt_team_ellen.aspx (though how anyone would find that link is a mystery for the b2b marketing boffins at BT). 

www.bt.co.uk has no mention of the sailing tie up, but does list the BT sponsorship of 2012 on the front page.

White Campaign to Raise Awareness for Toe in the Water

British Vendee Globe hopeful, 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’.

White nearly didn’t make it to the start line, taking huge personal risks on the fact that backing would come at the last moment. In the end the funding will not come from a marketing savvy brand but a consortium of private backers 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, 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. I am delighted to carry the name and colours of Toe in the Water around the world.’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.’

More information at http://www.toeinthewater.org and http://www.whiteoceanracing.com