Ellen MacArthur and her crew on Kingfisher 2 have arrived at their French training base to prepare for next year's attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy.

Following an intensive push to get the 110-foot catamaran ready, involving nearly 24-hours work a day for several weeks, the crew left Cherbourg, where the new mast was fitted and headed off to the French America's Cup compound in Lorient, where they will stay until they are ready to leave for the Jules Verne in mid-to-late January.

The massive catamaran, the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, after skipper Bruno Peyron and a crew of 14 raced around the world non-stop in 64 days, eight hours, 37 minutes and 24 seconds, has been rebranded in the colours of Kingfisher plc's two principal brands, B&Q and Castorama.

MacArthur and her crew spent a rough and cold night in a force eight easterly wind before arriving at the base.

"It was bloody cold!," she said. "But apart from that, it was great for everyone to get out there sailing, even though we took it pretty easy as we are not fully set up onboard yet to push her too hard.

"It's a very different sensation of course to the monohull. The new sails from North look good and, whilst we have plenty of items on the job list, we're in great shape considering the limited time we have had so far since we received the new mast.

"The guys have been putting in some serious hours. Now we have to work through the list, get some sea miles in and verify everything for the Jules Verne. We expect to do some longer training trips just after Christmas."

Setting a new record in the Jules Verne, which is inspired by the fictional explorer Phileas Fogg from Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days, will require the Kingfisher 2 crew to average more than 18.15 knots around the 28,035-nautical mile course.