WHILE Ellen MacArthur has her sights set on challenging the record for the Jules Verne Trophy next year, a member of her Offshore Challenges Team has already been named as watchleader aboard the French 110 foot catamaran Orange, which is due to set off any day

Nick Moloney joined Kingfisher last year as co-skipper with Ellen during the EDS Challenge, bringing success to their combined effort

Orange is the former Innovations Explorer, which took second place to Club Med in The Race last February

The boat has set off for Brest with skipper Bruno Peyron, and the crew are making final preparations whilst waiting for a weather window

The record to beat is 71 days around the globe

Nick could leave anytime after February 8th

After a busy few months (or is it years?) Ellen MacArthur is about to disappear from the scene for a couple of months as she hibernates to finish her book Taking on the World, due out in September this year