Countdown begins

Ellen's new tri is getting ready for official naming ceremony on Thursday

Ellen MacArthur and the 16-strong shore team now in Sydney, Australia are in countdown mode to the official naming of the new 75-foot B&Q trimaran that will take place on Thursday, 8 January outside the stunning National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. The naming will form part of the opening ceremony at the Schroders London Boat Show via a satellite link hosted by communications partner, BT. The show opening starts at 1100 GMT and after the naming of the new trimaran, Ellen will also officially co-open the 50th Schroders London Boat Show.

The boat testing of the new Nigel Irens designed trimaran has already begun in Sydney: "We have been out sailing three times so far in varying conditions from light conditions to a good sea breeze gusting up to 25 knots," said MacArthur. "The tri sailed really well in both conditions and we saw 28 knots of boat speed in the last sail - it was pretty awesome and there were lots of big grins on the guys faces."

Now the team are focussing on having the trimaran ready for the official naming as work continues on the interior of the boat. After the naming ceremony, the trimaran will undergo further testing before departing for Auckland, New Zealand where the major part of Ellen's training programme will take place before returning the trimaran to Europe.

Ellen's famous blue and yellow Open 60 will be on display at the Schroders London Boat Show from 8 January to help raise awareness for the Ellen MacArthur Trust. A great chance to get a close up view of the boat that took Ellen around the world in 94 days in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe. The boat can be found at Berth 20 middle Pontoon.