Those with an interest in this year's Marion-Bermuda yacht race will be able to track every boat's mile-by-mile progress, courtesy of cutting edge technology.

Each of the vessels taking part in the 645-mile ocean race this June will be fitted with a GPS transponder, allowing friends, family and media to track progress, position ? by class and by fleet ? and speed. The transponders will also provide obvious security benefits with the organising committee aware of each boat's exact location.

In other changes, the cruising yacht race will also use a single time-on-time handicap system as opposed to the previous combination of time-on-time and time-on-distance handicapping system.

Marion-Bermuda Race organisers are expecting more than 100 boats for the popular biennial event with new divisions and new prizes on offer this year.

The 15th edition of the family-oriented event will leave from Buzzards Bay, off Marion, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 17 with multi-hull and double-handed yachts competing for the first time. A line honours prize for the first all-female crew will also be on offer.

Changes brought in for the 2003 race ? in which Bermudian Robert Mulderig's was first across the line at St. David's Head ? saw the inclusion of vessels of up to 80 feet in length for the first time and this will remain the case with race organisers happy with the composition of the fleet.