Princess Anne will officially re-commission Gipsy Moth IV for active service on Thursday 30th June 2005 at the International Festival of the Sea in Portsmouth. Anne will be the first member of the Royal Family to set foot on the famous vessel since the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the vessel in 1967 while awarding Chichester his knighthood.

Anne will board Sir Francis Chichester’s famous vessel to inspect the restoration work undertaken by Camper & Nicholsons at cost price. The project was instigated by Yachting Monthly and supported by the yacht’s new owners, the United Kingdom Sailing Academy. As Patron of the UKSA and numerous children’s charities, Anne is particularly interested in the vessel’s new role, offering young people the opportunity to experience the thrills and challenges of the ocean.

The vessel which was re-launched earlier this month after a £600,000 restoration, will be put to work taking young people from a variety of disadvantaged backgrounds on a global voyage, leaving Plymouth on the 25th September 2005. The voyage will offer young people a ‘window on the world’, with modern technology enabling interaction between the vessel and classrooms around the globe.

The project partners; UKSA, Yachting Monthly and The Maritime Trust are still seeking funding to enable young people from disadvantaged background to take part in every leg of the voyage. With three spaces available on each leg of the adventure, the Project hopes to send over 100 young people on this voyage of a lifetime.

The UK Sailing Academy has been working closely with schools from areas including Plymouth, Peckham, Portsmouth, Scarborough, the Isle of Wight and charities such as the Ellen MacArthur Trust and The Prince’s Trust, to select deserving young people who will benefit from the opportunities presented by the trip.

Spearheading the project’s fundraising activities, the Gipsy Moth IV Mobile Exhibition Unit is providing visitors to the show with information about Sir Francis Chichester, Gipsy Moth IV and her forthcoming circumnavigation.

Donations to the project can be made at www.gipsymoth.org or by calling 01983 203017.