WHEN Bruno Peyron first outlined his idea for a no-holds barred yacht race to mark the new millennium in 1993, it had all the signs of being the most sensational race of the century, both this one and last.

Across the world, the phone lines buzzed as legends of the seas were captivated. Some saw it as an opportunity to push forward the bounds of technology while others contemplated a true boys' own adventure hurtling through the seas under massive sails at unheard of speeds.

Before long, a list of potential participants emerged that resembled a roll of honour of the great and the good in world offshore yacht racing.

In 1998, five years after Peyron had initiated the concept, there were 58 declared challengers including seven from Britain. Robin Knox-Johnston, Lawrie Smith and Tracy Edwards all signed up, intent on making the 2000 start in Barcelona.

But as the months dragged by and the race took shape, the list shrank.

It was too big a monster for many syndicates as well as the corporates who were approached to fund the giant new multi-million dollar catamarans nominated as the only means to success in this mother-of-all races.

Pete Goss found a backer for his dream. His entry for The Race was to cost electronics giant Philips more than £4 million, while other companies such as BT and Musto also ploughed in funds to pay for a revolutionary new catamaran, designed to carry enormous loads and reach breathtaking speeds.

Team Philips was blessed by the Queen but, soon after, things started to go wrong as sea trials created more problems than they resolved. The campaign came to an end this month when Goss was forced to abandon the boat after the steering gear broke. A subsequent search failed to locate it.

The scrapping of Team Philips left The Race with six firm entries, including Tony Bullimore in Team Legato. He, along with two other contenders, had emerged from the boatyard so late that Peyron's strict qualifying rules could not be met. Yet still, they have been allowed to compete.

The boats, all of them multihulls, are the biggest in the world - both Steve Fossett's Playstation and Bullimore's Team Legato were lengthened to compete with the speeds achieved by the newer Giles Ollier machines.

American balloonist and millionaire Fossett had his works completed in Lymington and the boat was parked up in Southampton docks for a few weeks while the final tuning was carried out.

It is uncertain whether Playstation, which has had its fair share of structural problems since it was launched in 1998, will prove quicker and more robust than the ground-breaking Ollier-designed Multiplast-built boats, which were snapped up by Grant Dalton for Club Med, Cam Lewis on Team Adventure and Loick Peyron and his Code One syndicate, which is now called Innovation Explorer.