IT'S BEEN dubbed the drag racer of the high seas.

Sailrocket is set to blast its way into the record books this year by claiming the world speed sailing record for Britain if the ambitious plans of a Southampton-based designer bear fruit.

The £80,000 craft, paid for by a host of companies around the Solent, is set to slice through the water at a staggering 50 knots (57 miles per hour) - nearly twice as fast as the speed of a competition yacht.

And if its forthcoming sea trials are successful - and designer Malcolm Barnsley is confident they will be - the world speed sailing record could be on its way back to Britain for the first time since the 1980s.

Companies from around the Solent including SP Systems on the Isle of Wight and sail clothing makers, Mustoe have helped to pay for the construction of Sailrocket which will be officially launched from its base at Merlin Quay in Southampton by Lady Caroline Johnson on April 23.

From there, the super sleek craft will be taken to Weymouth for bedding in trials expected to last for five weeks before pilot Paul Larsen makes his world record attempt.

Sailrocket has been designed by former naval architect and current design chief of NEG Microns, Malcolm Barnsley.

Mr Barnsley, 47, of Chasen Road in Bitterne Manor has spent the past 18 months building and designing Sailrocket.

He told the Daily Echo he had been chasing the dream of smashing the world record which currently stands at 50 mph for the past 25 years.

He said: "There is no question we are going to go for it. In around four to five weeks' time, we will know we are ready to attempt the record."

Mr Barnsley was helped to build and design the craft by staff at Southampton University. He also tested Sailrocket by building accurate scale models which he then set up in a wind tunnel to check on the full sized boat's performance.

Pilot Paul Larsen, 34, a world class professional sailor, agreed that the boat was likely to wrest the record from his fellow Australians. He said that the attempt itself could be made in the Far-East but no final decisions had yet been made.

He said: "It gets up to full speed within a few hundred metres. We are trying a very new boat and going for a very extreme speed. You have to imagine it is like a drag car racer - purely built for speed."

Malcolm added: "We are very confident."