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MacArthur begins Jules Verne bid
LORIENT, France (CNN) -- Ellen MacArthur and her crew on board Kingfisher2 have begun their bid to break the Jules Verne round-the-world record. The 26-year-old sailor and her 13-man crew crossed the start line at Ushant, off northwest France, at 0648 GMT on Thursday. "There is real relief on board, it hasn't been the most ideal way to start but we are really happy to be able to get on with the task of challenging the Jules Verne record," MacArthur was quoted as saying on her Web site. She had planned to start her attempt on Tuesday but a problem with the catamaran's mast track delayed the departure. The crew went to Plymouth, Devon, where the 34m (110 foot) maxi catamaran Kingfisher2 spent more than 24 hours for repairs. British rival skipper Tracy Edwards, who had to postpone her Jules Verne attempt until 2004 in Maiden II due to a lack of funds, provided a piece of mast off her laid up yacht to get MacArthur back on schedule. Edwards said: "Although Ellen and I are obviously rivals on the water, it would be great for British sailing if she was able to capture the Jules Verne record and, as a result, we were more than happy to provide whatever assistance. "We broke four world records with it in 2002 so I hope that it brings them the same good fortune in their Jules Verne attempt." While Kingfisher was being repaired in Plymouth Sound, her on-the-water rival, French skipper Olivier de Kersauson, posted another record -- making MacArthur's task even harder. Kersauson, sailing the giant 34m trimaran Geronimo with 10 crew, left Brittany on January 11 and, after 18 days at sea, set a record-breaking pace, smashing both the Ushant to the Equator and the Ushant to Cape of Good Hope records. Geronimo is now the fastest yacht ever between the English Channel and the southern tip of Africa with a new time of 16 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes. Jules Verne holder Bruno Peyron was 2 days, 4 hours and 5 minutes slower on the section when he set the round-the-world record in May 2002. MacArthur and Kersauson are trying to beat Peyron's time of 64 days, 8 hours, 37 minutes set in the 34m catamaran Orange, which is now being sailed by MacArthur as Kingfisher2. Peyron covered the 28,035 nautical miles at an average speed of 18.15 knots. To beat Peyron's existing record, MacArthur will need to re-cross the Jules Verne line by 1525 GMT on April 4.
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