He took line honours last time out and Robert Mulderig will be looking for more of the same from this month in the Marion-Bermuda race.

The skipper was only a late entry into this year?s race ? expected to have around 80 boats in the fleet ? but now he is committed he is looking forward to the challenge of the ocean crossing ? and the social side.

?At one stage we were thinking of having in the Med (Mediterranean) for the summer but in the end we decided to do the race and now we are gearing up for it,? said Mulderig, who also competed in the Newport-Bermuda Race last year.

?It?s a great race and a lot of fun. The social side of things up in Marion is fantastic. For both races the Bermuda side of things are very similar but up in Marion the crews get together a lot more at the social functions and it is great to meet up with the other sailors.

?It?s always a fun event and I?m looking forward to the challenge.?

Although the two races see the vessels take an almost identical course once they get out into the ocean, Mulderig believes the start of the Marion race is tougher than people might think.

?Coming out of Buzzard?s Bay isn?t ever that smooth,? said the skipper of the 72ft sloop which will have a crew of 14 for the crossing.

?It is actually the most difficult part of the whole journey, in my opinion. You can often get a great deal of fog that makes things awkward and it can be quite a scramble.

?The rest of the crossing is identical to the Newport one, with all the challenges that go with it but the Marion start is always tricky, for me.?

After crossing the line first, just outside record time in 2003, Mulderig actually put the vessel up for sale, although she is still his for now, at least.

?To be truthful it has been up for sale ever since,? smiled Mulderig.

?No action has been taken, so we are just going to keep with her for now. It would be great to have another go at the record but it all depends on what the weather is doing.

?We had very favourable conditions two years ago when we came so the close to the record and whether we break it this year depends very much on what the conditions are. Of course it would be lovely, but we have to wait and see.?

Mulderig is one of three Bermudians competing this year, as well as Paul Hubbard in and Colin Couper in

Sir John Vereker, the Governor of Bermuda, will be aboard as he was for last year?s Newport-Bermuda Race while larger-than-life TV personality Geraldo Rivera will also be competing again in the 15th edition of the 645-mile ocean crossing, aboard

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 race, which sees the bulk of the fleet leave on Friday, June 17, 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.