Sodebo - off again

Coville heads for Miami start line

Thomas Coville and his trimaran Sodebo set sail this afternoon at 14h30 GMT from Fort Lauderdale to the starting line of his next singlehanded record attempt between Miami and New York.

Coville was expecting to start the record at 18:00GMT when the forecast was for an easterly wind of 12-18 knots.

For Coville the attempt looks set to be in unstable conditions with, in addition to the Gulf Stream driving him north, the presence of Hurricane Emily in the Gulf Mexico although the current track of 'Emily' is WNW. The wind is expected to go light for Coville tomorrow (Monday) as he negotiates as ridge emerging into moderate southwesterlies that are forecast to stick with him until he reaches the Ambrose Light on Wednesday.

"The traffic is extremely dense on this 1000 mile course," said Coville of the risks he faced with this passage. "There are many fishermen, yachts and cargo liners. I'm going to have three non-stop days where when my radar alarms will be on permanently and it will be very difficult to sleep."