Ellen opens boat show

At ceremony coinciding with launch of her new trimaran Castorama B&Q

Ellen MacArthur's new 75ft trimaran Castorama B&Q was launched today under the colours of her principle title sponsor, B&Q at a ceremony outside the Australian Maritime Museum that also saw open the Schroaders London International Boat Show by video link.

At 1100GMT the new trimaran, berthed outside the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, was officially named by Fergus MacArthur, Ellen's youngest brother. "I am dedicating the launch of the new boat to my family who have given me such incredible support and stood by me in everything I have done since first sailing solo around Britain," said MacArthur. "It means a great deal to me to have my brother here to officially name the boat and on a personal level to acknowledge the huge support my family have given me without question." The entire B&Q shore and build team shared the celebrations with many friends and family.

"B&Q is proud to support Ellen, but actually we feel that we are more than just a sponsor as we've been involved in this boat from the beginning and our range of Power Tools has played such a vital role in helping to build the new B&Q trimaran," said B&Q's Marketing Director, David Roth.

At the same time, but on the opposite side of the world to MacArthur, another record was being set as HM The Queen launched Cunard's largest and most luxurious ocean liner, Queen Mary 2 in Southampton, UK