A 26-foot catamaran powered by twin outboards will next week attempt to break the record for a 662 nautical mile run between the US and Bermuda.

WCC Group, Inc., the North Carolina-based manufacturer of World Cat power catamarans, will launch the effort to win the Boating Bermuda Cup on October 26, weather permitting.

The cup was offered by Boating Magazine after it dared boat builders and manufacturers to drive a power boat from the US mainland to Bermuda.

The perpetual trophy was first won by the catamaran Glacier Bay in September, 1996, after it made the 728 mile trip from Virginia to Bermuda in 37 hours.

WCC Group chief executive officer Forrest Munden will captain the latest voyage aboard the Red White and Two with WCC Group vice president of sales John Richardson as his crew.

And he is confident that he will be able to wrest the cup away from the two-year holders with a speedy run between New York Harbour and the Island.

"We've got the product and the hull efficiency to break the record,'' said Mr. Munden. "I think we can do it much faster.

"Speed runs are not usually done in a boat this small, but the World Cat 266 SF's fuel capacity and the fuel efficiency of its Vectorflo hull make the trip well within reach.'' Red White and Two is a World Cat 266 SF equipped with twin 150 hp OMC Ficht direct-injection outboards. At the planned speed of 25 knots, it will reach Bermuda in 261 hours.

The pair will take turns piloting the vessel in rotating four hour shifts.

Although the launch falls within hurricane season for the Atlantic, the date also coincides with favourable water currents between the US and Bermuda.