Three 86-foot boats will attempt to hack as much as 18 hours off the Newport-Bermuda Race record as the new-look ocean race moves into the next century.

A demonstration class has been added to the 44th instalment of the historic race, which will see a new generation of vessels pulling into Bermuda as early as Sunday morning.

The fleet of 159 sails today from Narragansett Bay with a new, longer version of Roy Disney?s attempting to break her own record, set in 2002 at 53 hours, 39 minutes and 22 seconds. has been sold by Disney and replaced with an 86-ft version, at a cost thought to be approaching $4 million, and will join and in the Big Boat Demonstration Division.

Talk is of a finish of between an unprecedented 36 and 40 hours, depending on the weather, in an innovation that has been the talk of Newport ahead of the race start.

?I think this is good for sailing and good for the Newport-Bermuda Race,? said Robbie Haines, whose title of ?project manager? shows how seriously Roy Disney, nephew of Walt, takes his ocean sailing.

?This is a lot bigger, will be a lot faster and a lot more powerful. We are looking at within two days, within 48 hours. It is an exciting time for everyone involved. It is important that this new technology is being embraced.?

As well as the additional length, the new boats are using cutting edge technology with their canting keels, fibre shrouds and advanced electronics.

After some relatively benign conditions in recent years, apart from the obvious vagaries and uncertainty surrounding entering the Gulf Stream, forecasts seem to suggest that some helpful winds will pick up in the latter half of the race.

With her victory last time-out, is seen as the clear favourite, although Bermudian resident Hasso Plattner on and the crew of see it differently.

?The others are narrower and faster in a straight race, but we are hoping tactics and good sailing will be our strengths,? said John Bertrand, watch captain on another former race winner in a previous incarnation ? winning in 1994 when only a smaller vessel.

?I think it is good that the race has moved forward in this way, these boats are where sailing is going and it raises the status of the race when you have talk of records being broken by this much.? navigator Nic White is expecting a slow start from Newport but the forecast of 20 knot winds should offer the fleet substantial assistance over the last 200 miles, he claims.

?Forty eight hours would be a reasonable prediction,? he said. ?But faster times could come if the weather is in our favour.?

Although none of the three skippers would actually claim responsibility, talk of a 36-hour finish has been bandied around the bars and restaurants of the Rhode Island town which is buzzing with excitement, noise and Bermuda shorts ahead of today?s start.

?We welcome this new Big Boat Demonstration Division to the 2004 Newport-Bermuda race,? said race chairman John Winder. ?We are again enhancing the event by inviting a new breed of boats that are faster than our traditional limit and include cutting-edge technology like water ballast and cant keels to sail the race in their own demonstration division.?

To protect the interests of the other sailors, including those who entered this year intent on breaking 2002 mark, the Demonstration Division will have separate records, leaving Disney?s crew of 19 hopeful of holding both records come Sunday afternoon.

Expected to head the ?normal? fleet will be Joseph Dockery?s , an 80-ft vessel.

Three Bermudian boats are competing this year, as well as two Bermudians working in other crews. skippered by Colin Couper in his ninth race, will be looking to grab one of more than 80 prizes to be handed out this year.

Former Royal Bermuda Yacht Club commodore Les Crane is taking while Rob Mulderig leads .

Steve Sherwin, who in 2002 skippered , is a watch captain for Constantine Koste on . Somers Cooper is aboard

More than 24 new skippers are attempting the crossing this year, although one man should have no trouble remembering the route. Jim Mertz, skippering , is hoping to complete his 30th Newport race early next week at the age of 93.