Setting Sail For History.(Ellen MacArthur attempts to break circumnavigation record)(Interview)

In December, British sailor Ellen MacArthur won the Route du Rhum, a prestigious singlehanded race from France to Guadeloupe, in record- breaking time. She was the first woman ever to win. The victory earned the 26-year-old worldwide renown, and she was made a Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. Now MacArthur is after an even bigger prize. Last week she set sail with a crew of 13 men aboard Kingfisher 2, her 110-foot catamaran, to break the nonstop circumnavigation record of 64 days 8 hours 37 minutes 24 seconds to win what is known as the Jules Verne Trophy. MacArthur met with NEWSWEEK's Dana Thomas in the French port of Lorient, where the team was busy with final preparations, to talk about the allure of sailing and the mysteries of the sea. Excerpts:

THOMAS: Why have you decided to attempt to break the circumnavigation record?

MACARTHUR: It's a very pure thing to sail around the world as fast as you can. When I did the Vendee Globe in 2000--the singlehanded nonstop circumnavigation race--I thought, "What's next?" I decided why not go around the world with a crew on a big one and try to break the record?

It took two years for you to get the project together. What did that entail?

First we had to secure a boat. We bought Kingfisher 2, which last year, when it was known as Orange, broke the Jules Verne record. Then we had to refit the boat and pull a crew together. We train on the boat and off. Every morning we're in the gym by 6:45--two days swimming, two days gym, two days sports like basketball. Then we go out to sea. We've done several 24-, 36-, 48-, 60-hour trips, sailing around in a box, to test the boat out.

What do you learn about yourself by sailing around the world?

You work very hard, because you're not out there just to go cruise around the world. You're out there to push as hard as you can, up to and beyond your limits. You learn how much you sleep. In the first single-handed transatlantic race I did, my average sleep was four hours, 20 minutes in every 24. And in the first four days of the Route du Rhum, I averaged one and a half hours' sleep in every 24. When the data came back I couldn't believe it. I knew I hadn't slept a lot. But that was amazing.