A change in regulations for the super-sleek, ultra-fast maxis and an increasingly favourable weather forecast have heightened the prospects of a record crossing in the biennial Newport to Bermuda Race which gets underway early this afternoon.

And while Boomerang, skippered by George Coumantaros, will be many people's favourite to break its own mark of 57 hours, 31 minutes and 50 seconds for the 635-mile voyage - set back in 1996 - plenty of eyes will also be on Roy Disney's Pyewacket, competing for the first time, and the German maxi Morning Glory.

As race chairman John Winder pointed out a press conference yesterday, both of the latter have taken full advantage of a new clause in the rules, which allows boats to add stability and sail area or substantially decrease displacement.

“We do have an upper size limit that has increased,” explained Winder. “Pyewacket and Morning Glory have optimised to that level. They have worked very hard, actually, to reach that level from their previous configurations.

“Given the boats participating, there's every chance a record could be broken.”

Moreover, a quick crossing will depend on the weather, and race press officer Talbot Wilson, while admitting the forecast could change, said it was his belief the existing record would come under threat.

“At this point it seems the wind around the finish line in Bermuda is going to be strong all week, between 20 and 30 knots,” Wilson said. “The wind we have predicted for tomorrow (today) for the start is northeasterly. Then the boats will go through a light part in the middle of the course.

“But there's a warm front that's going to cross back over the fleet and bring the wind back up to the boats.

“If that's the case, I don't see a light spot anywhere on the course. And I think it's going to be a great race. We'll find out soon enough.” Wilson continued: “You look at the weather and it appears that where the Gulf Stream is you've got a big eddy that favours boats going to the west, and the wind favours people going to the west. So you should see a bunch of boats sailing over that side, going down that loop of the Gulf Stream, picking up the southwesterly and reaching into Bermuda.

“It's going to be a very favourable race regards both current and wind. It's got all the makings of a new record.”

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club commodore Les Crane, sceptical a day earlier, agreed yesterday that prospects of a fast race had improved.

“The speed limit has increased slightly because of a change in the IMS maxi rule, so theoretically it's possible we could have a new speed record,” he said. “While there's still a bit of time yet to figure out how the winds are going to finish up, the forecast certainly looks encouraging.”