Mrs Lovell, who grew up in Launceston, had just one day’s sailing experience when she successfully applied to crew an Invictus Games yacht Down Under, set to sail in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

She joined other military personnel from Australia and the UK crewing two Clipper 69 yachts entered into the race by Invictus Games.

Prince Harry of Wales created the Invictus Games in 2014 to assist wounded, injured and ill defence personnel and veterans in their recovery and rehabilitation with the power of sport.

Sailing has just been added to its list of sports, alongside athletics, archery and wheelchair basketball, and is set to debut at the 2018 games to be held in Sydney this October.

The therapeutic benefits of sailing for those suffering from physical and mental injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder, are just beginning to be realised.

Mrs Lovell said her sailing experience in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race had helped her to push past pain boundaries, and realise that she can do a lot more than what she previously thought was possible.

For fellow crew member Craig McGrath, 44, sailing is providing a means to readjust and transition back into civilian life.

Mr McGrath has served 23 years in the special forces of the Australian Army, and is soon to embark on a life outside of the military.

In 2012 he was severely injured while on foot patrol in Afghanistan.

“We were doing an operation (where) someone inside a compound was booby-trapped. I was standing in front of a bomb, and it was tripped. I had lots of blast wounds, shrapnel wounds, and burns,’’ he said.

Mr McGrath spent almost two months recovering, and suffers from muscular damage in his legs and hip, early onset arthritis, and has shrapnel in his body that cannot be removed.

He said while he has worked through anger and guilt after the incident, one of his major battles has been accepting his departure from the military.

For him, sailing has helped enormously.

“You end up being very dedicated to the military, it becomes your life and when you can’t do that anymore, because of whatever has happened to you, it can be very difficult to find something else to (replace it),’’ he said.

“I have always been a very active person. I used to do a lot of running and triathalon but I can’t do that anymore. Sailing has become my outlet. It is something I can physically do and I don’t have to manage pain too much. It has been good.’’

Mr McGrath said sailing was good because minimal physical activity was needed.

He said without Invictus Games he would not be sailing.

“I literally have to walk 20 feet to do anything on the boat. The only thing that wears me out is standing on the helm for anything more than 30 minutes in big weather,’’ he said.

“But I can take a rest, and then jump back in.’’

For Mrs Lovell, who suffers from back injuries, sailing is perfect as it mostly uses the upper body.

In 2012 Mrs Lovell knocked her back on a stag horn, the iron bollard that sits at the back of a Navy ship, during deployment in the Middle East.

She sustained a serious muscular back injury that was later hampered by the continual wearing of military body armour and now suffers from chronic lower back pain, has had two bone grafts and fusions in her foot, and every 12 months has surgery to burn the nerves in her foot.

She said she is unable to stand for long periods of time, and cannot pick up her four-year-old son without it resulting in all day pain.

“I have pain in my lower back which is always there (so) sailing was a physical and mental challenge,’’ Mrs Lovell said.

“We adapted to our injuries, we would do something sitting down, or we would do it as much as the pain allowed, and if we couldn’t keep doing something, someone would step in and help,’’ she said.

“So if we were grinding winches to get the sails up, someone would do it for a minute and then swap.’’

Mrs Lovell said sailing was good for her recovery because it required her to keep her mind on the task and nothing else, which allowed her to push herself past her limits.

She said the race had been a massive achievement.

“Four weeks ago we didn’t even know each other and here we are doing a race that people wish to do their whole lives.’’