Nick has signed up as an ambassador to the epic adventure and he will officially start the journey that sees three 67-foot (20m) steel-hulled Challenge yachts set off from Portsmouth on Saturday 11 July 2009.
The yachts, named Adventure, Challenger and Discoverer, are crewed by Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force personnel, representing all ranks, ages and genders, who are undertaking an adventurous sail training exercise that will circumnavigate the globe under the banner Exercise TRANSGLOBE.
There are 13 stages being sailed with crew changes on most legs, allowing over 500 Service personnel, some of whom have recently returned from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, to experience ocean sailing.
Nick said:
"I would have loved to have sailed a leg and supported everyone taking part but the timing makes it impossible. But this is a really worthwhile venture and these guys and girls deserve all the support we can give them. Anything that helps to raise awareness of our courageous Armed Forces, who are putting their lives on the line to defend us all, has got to be worthwhile."
Squadron Leader Neil Cottrell, who heads up the project team co-ordinating TRANSGLOBE, commented:
"Having Nick associated with the TRANSGLOBE is a major PR coup for us, and we are hugely appreciative of his support, especially for giving up his valuable time to fire the start gun on 11th July.
"Confidence, stamina and determination, along with physical and mental toughness are key personal attributes that we seek to develop in everybody serving in the Armed Forces along with their ability to work effectively within a team.
"TRANSGLOBE will provide a once-in-a-lifetime challenge when all these individual and team attributes will be strengthened during long, sometimes arduous, ocean crossings and in the heat of competition in the 2009 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race and in Antigua Race Week 2010 for the six racing crews."