for the fastest sailing of the Newport to Bermuda passage.

The 40-foot trimaran yacht Greenwich Propane originally set the record last June in the Multihull Bermuda race, beating the previous record set in 1987 by 19 minutes with an elapsed time of 64 hours and 29 minutes.

But the excitement of this sailing feat lasted only seven days though when their benchmark was crushed by the maxi monohull yacht Boomerang in the Newport to Bermuda race.

Boomerang 's time was registered in sailing history books at 57 hours and 31 minutes.

Now the Greenwich Propane Ocean Racing team not only intends to reclaim this record but this time they want it for keeps. Even though the two yachts are about as different as any two boats can possibly be, they say a sailing passage record is a passage record no matter how many hulls the yacht might have or the sailing philosophy the skipper might possess.

Greenwich Propane is owned and skippered by John Barry III of Branford, Connecticut, and sponsored by the Greenwich Propane Company of Greenwich, Connecticut.

She is an ultra light racing trimaran designed by Dick Newick from Maine. She and her skipper have travelled to all corners of the Atlantic Ocean in quest of marathon ocean race wins and passage records.

This sailing specialty has always been dominated by French and English yachts with only two American yachts daring to challenge the decisively dominant European champions.

Greenwich Propane has undergone an extensive refit in an effort to make her stronger and lighter for the expected torturous hard drive to Bermuda. Two members of the Greenwich Propane team, Gilles Campan and Dephine Thomas of Brittany, France, in conjunction with her designer Dick Newick, have spent the better part of five weeks preparing her for the near gale conditions that are required to shatter the passage record.

Another member of their team, Bill Biewena of Rhode Island, will be working shore side and in direct communication with Greenwich Propane as their weather and Gulf Stream consultant.

Barry has raced Greenwich Propane since 1989, out-sailing the European favourites in several events.

The most dramatic was two years ago when the underdog American yacht managed to slip away from the fleet in the two-handed Transatlantic Race from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island.

Boomerang 's blistering Bermuda record has inspired an additional challenger and contender for the record books.

French BOC single-handed around the world sailor, J.P. Mouligne, has also registered a willingness to attempt to break the passage record on his 50-foot ultra light monohull yacht Cray Valley .

Optimum weather and wind conditions are different for the two yachts so both skippers have agreed to start separately in search of their favourite conditions.

Both Greenwich Propane and the Cray Valley plan to start their Bermuda journeys during the last two weeks of October.

Both teams feel they can sustain the required 12-knot pace over the 635-mile course to beat Boomerang 's record.