The stopwatch starts

Kingfisher2 crosses Jules Verne start line - at speed

Following her pitstop in Plymouth Kingfisher2 crossed Jules Verne start line off Ushant at 06:48:49 GMT this morning to begin her non-stop round the world Jules Verne record attempt.

"We've got breeze of about 35-40 knot and the boat speed is pretty quick - 25-35 knots, so we're shifting pretty quickly," commented Ellen MacArthur. "And the sea state is quite rough, but not too bad. The waves seems okay for the boat and we can do these speeds without charging into the waves. It is going to stay similar today."

At present the boat is running but MacArthur said that the wind is expected to back this evening.