Yachting superstar Tracy Edwards has announced that she will be aiming to break the record time for sailing around the world non-stop.

She will enter the Jules Verne race in January 2003, where one of her main rivals will be fellow British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur.

MacArthur announced in January that she too will be entering the race.

Edwards has acquired a 110-foot catamaran to be named 'Maiden II' and an all-female crew to break the existing record of 71 days.

In 1998, Edwards set sail on-board catamaran 'Royal Sun Alliance' with an all-girl crew for her first Jules Verne attempt.

Broken mast

During the voyage, the crew broke two open speed records - fastest all-woman crew across the Atlantic and fastest across the English Channel by sail.

But 43 days into the race and ahead of schedule, the mast was broken by 40-foot waves and 55mph winds in the Southern Ocean, 2,000 miles from land.

This time Edwards and her new crew hope to go further.

Her team will use the same boat in which an all-male crew, skippered by Kiwi Grant Dalton, won "The Race" in just 63 days.

That is a non-stop race around the planet where no restrictions are placed on the size or design of the boats, although the time does not qualify for a Jules Verne attempt.

Eleven of the multi-national Maiden II crew have been announced, including Britain's Emma Richards, Sam Davies and Miranda Merron.