British yachtsman Pete Goss’s giant catamaran, currently in build in Devon, will feature on the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World programme on Wednesday evening and on the following Wednesday, 26 May. The two features are part of the coverage of the boat’s progress over the next two years, culminating in The Race, the no-limits race round the world at the end of 2000.

In the next two weeks’ programmes, Tomorrow’s World’s presenter, Peter Snow, will look at the concept of the boat and the ideas of her designer, Adrian Thompson. Rig trials and the tank testing that are being used to prove this radical boat are also featured, as is the science of physical fitness training and the technological advances being made in the clothing the crew will wear.

Pete Goss’s boat is mid-way through building in Totnes, with one hull and the central pod already complete. Elements of the boat will be put together in the autumn in time for her launch in mid-January next year. After only a couple of months of sea trials, Pete Goss and his crew will set off on a Jules Verne non-stop round the world record attempt in March or April 2000 – what they are calling “a sort of shakedown” for The Race.