Orange skipper Bruno Peyron will today announce the revised start date for his 110 ft maxicatamaran’s Jules Verne attempt. The boat’s original start, on 14 February, lasted precisely 35 minutes before the top metre of the mast sheared off, forcing the giant to meet her maker once again at the Multiplast yard in Vannes.

According to yard foreman Jean-Baptiste Epron, the mast was finished 24 hours ahead of the schedule drawn up last week and Orange should be ready for sea trials by the weekend. “The start is getting closer and closer,” said Epron.

The date Peyron will announce today is provisional on sea trials being successfully completed. Orange’s 13-crew are all standing by ready to set out in pursuit of the current Jules Verne record holder Olivier de Kersauson in his 110ft trimaran Geronimo. OdK has just crossed the Equator and is well ahead of his existing record (71d 14h), set in 1997 onboard his previous trimaran Sport Elec.