Tracy Edwards and her Maiden Ocean Racing Qatar team have announced the proposed start dates of two Oceanic races for large multihulls and monohulls – The Oryx Cup and The Quest 2006.  a>

The Oryx Cup will start from the Solent on Sunday 23 January 2005 at 1100 hrs. This non-stop global race is open to multihulls of 100ft loa and above and monohulls of 90ft loa and above. The prize for first place will be the biggest cash prize in sailing history – US$1 million.

The Quest 2006 start is scheduled for 20 December 2006 from Doha, State of Qatar. Unlike the Oryx Cup, the Quest 2006 will race round the world in several stages and finish in Qatar.

A feeder race from the Solent will be organised to start in October/November 2006, possibly via the Cape of Good Hope. Like the Oryx Cup these events are open to multihulls (100ft and above) and monohulls (90ft and above).

The organisers plan to repeat both events every four years with further events planned to take place for monohulls and multihulls exceeding 90ft and 100ft loa respectively.