Ellen MacArthur and crew onboard the 75ft trimaran B&Q crossed the start
line off of the east coast of Japan last Saturday to begin a 906 mile
(1678km) leg from Yokohama (Japan) to Jeju Island (South Korea) to kick off
the Asian Record Circuit 2006. Ellen and her team are setting out to
establish 10 new offshore record runs between 9 cities in 6 countries.

The collision damage from a floating tree during the delivery trip meant
that the shore team faced a race against the clock to repair to keep the
tour on schedule. The dagger-board and the sacrificial crash box on the bow
took the full brunt of the collision, as it is designed to do – but whilst
the main structure of the boat was therefore spared, the repair has been a
big one and has taken the total focus of the team.

On the water B&Q will be facing a very different set of challenges compared
to those faced during the round the world record last winter. This record
circuit will cover some of the world’s busiest shipping zones, with large
fishing fleets not used to seeing a fast moving three hulled missile! Use
of the radar is going to be rather full time, and this time other boats not
icebergs are going to be the main focus.