Ex-Explorer catamaran Polpharma-Warta departed from Cadiz, Spain on Sunday February 13, in an attempt to qualify for the The Race, a ?round-the-world non-stop, no-holds-barred race that starts in Barcelona December 31, 2000. The 85? catamaran must reach the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, some 3,885 nautical miles distant, before February 28 at 11:42:53 GMT in order to qualify for the event. The seven-member crew must complete the route in 15 days 15 hours 31 seconds. The 12 d 12h 25m 26s record was set in 1988 by the catamaran Jet Services V, skippered by Serge Madec.

The Polish team had been waiting since the beginning of February for a favorable weather window. Said skipper Roman Paszke: "Our main objective is to qualify for The Race. But we would also like to beat Serge?s record. Polpharma-Warta is a perfectly prepared boat and over the last few months we have gotten to know her well." Force 3 to 7 northeast winds generated by a high-pressure zone off Spain are forecast until Wednesday or Thursday, after which the team will have to contend with the fury of a force 9 storm.