Every journey begins with a single step. Not your typical Club Med activity—technicians and crew members secure the 131-foot "engine" to the 110-foot flagship.

VANNES, FRANCE — As the December 2000 start of The Race creeps closer, vessels that will comprise a fleet of carbon-fiber sailing monsters are starting to edge out of their yards. The first of three sister ships conceived by the Gilles Ollier design team, the 110-foot catamaran Club Med was the latest entrant to splash down last week, and had its mast stepped on Tuesday.
Two cranes raised the 131-foot-tall mast upright and gently lowered it into place to rest on a stainless steel ball, five and a half inches in diameter, allowing it to rotate with the mainsail. There is enough surface area on the mast for it to act as a sail on its own, and in heavy winds, the craft should reach anticipated speeds of 35 knots. The mast is oblong-shaped, tapered at the top, resembling the wing of a glider, and is designed to withstand 15 tons of wind-generated load. Club Med also took delivery of its sails and boom before heading under power for La Trinité sur Mer, 30 miles from the Vannes construction site. New Zealand skipper Grant Dalton and the architects of the Gilles Ollier Design Team will be engaged in a thorough inspection of all the key points in preparation for a May 19 sea trial.