Steve Fossett has arrived at the Andalucian base of Puerto Sherry with his 125ft maxi-catamaran PlayStation in preparation for his next speed record attempt. Fossett is currently waiting for a weather window to start the Christopher Columbus Route (east-west Transatlantic Record) from Cadiz to the Bahamas via the Canaries – also know as the Route of Discovery and the Trade Winds Route.

The target for the Cadiz – Canaries – Bahamas course (officially registered as 3,884.83 nm by the WSSRC – World Sailing Speed Records) is not the legendary Admiral’s 10 week voyage of 1492, but a rather more recent record – the current mark of 10d 14h 53m 44s set in June 2000 by the 110ft maxi-cat Club Med, co-skippered by Grant Dalton (NZ) and Bruno Peyron (FRA).

Yesterday, Steve described the decision process for when to summon the rest of the international crew (14 in total) to Cadiz:

“After considering an initial forecast for an 1800GMT departure on 3 February, we have decided to hold out for a better opportunity. The 3 February situation was a little light on wind strength and required gybing to get to Gran Canaria. We want to be able to lay the Canaries with decent wind so we have time to struggle through the last half of the route as is usually required.”