American adventurer Steve Fossett yesterday set off in a bid to break the sailing record for the fastest crossing from Newport to Bermuda.

Fossett left Rhode Island in his yacht Lakota at 12.25 p.m. Bermuda time, with Jean-Pierre Mouligne's record time of 53 hours, 46 minutes and 10 seconds in his sights.

And the man who made five failed attempts to become the first to fly around the world in a hot-air balloon believes he can complete the 635-mile voyage in 48 hours -- single-handed.

If 54-year-old Chicago multi-millionaire Fossett hits his target he will arrive at St. George's early tomorrow afternoon.

Four hours after his departure in light winds, Fossett was reported to be ahead of schedule and travelling at a brisk 20 knots.

Brian Thompson, part of Fossett's regular sailing team who are keeping in radio contact with Lakota said the record attempt had been timed to take advantage of favourable weather.

"He wanted to be in front of a cold front coming off the eastern seaboard of the US,'' said Thompson.

"Then south-westerly winds will help him on until he hits the high pressure around Bermuda and he could get some light winds near the Island.

"He will be following, as near as possible, the same course followed by the current record-holder and the same course as the Newport-to-Bermuda race.'' Lakota is a 60-foot trimaran, in which Fossett broke the Singlehanded Transpac Race record last year, completing the 2,120 miles between San Francisco and Hanelai Bay, Kaui, in seven days, 22 hours and 38 minutes.

Fossett had originally hoped to make his record attempt in the Newport-to Bermuda race, until he learned that as a multihull, his boat was ineligible.

The current record was set by Mouligne and his four-man crew on their 50-foot custom-built sloop Cray Valley in November, 1996.

Like Fossett, Mouligne was not taking part in the race from Newport, but instead took advantage of weather conditions and a two-day window which presented an excellent opportunity to beat the record.

Mouligne sailed well east of the most direct route, extending the voyage to 760 miles and averaged 14 knots in swells of up to 25 feet.

The race record of 57:31:50 was set by the 80-foot maxi-yacht Boomerang in June, 1996.

The quest for adventure has long been the driving force in Fossett's life. As Thompson, who has sailed with Fossett for six years, put it rather euphemistically: "He likes to do things which are difficult and out of the ordinary, rather than just sit down all day.'' Fossett's previous jaunts have included swimming the English Channel and the Bosporus, as well as his attempted global circumnavigations in a balloon. One flight, which ended abruptly last August with Fossett plunging 8,800 metres into the shark-infested Coral Sea 500 miles off Australia's east coast, left Fossett fearing for his life.

Afterwards, he said he had one thought as he plummeted towards the sea: "My gosh, I'm going to die.'' However, he was rescued by the schooner Atlanta , with body and appetite for adventure intact.

Perhaps the most exciting of his future projects is his entry in The Race , a round-the-world yacht challenge starting from the Straits of Gibraltar at midnight on December 31, 2000. For that, he will sail his massive catamaran Playstation , 105 feet long by 60 feet wide.