Since arriving in Le Havre for the pre-race preparations, Emma Richards and Miranda Merron from Southampton have not only been swamped by attention from the media but also by invites to swinging parties held by their fellow competitors.

So far, the atmosphere has been friendly and welcoming but come Saturday lunchtime, when the gun is fired to mark the start of the Transat Jacques Fabre, the feminine bonhomie will be replaced by a level of aggressive determination that could outdo the fiercest looking All Black performing the haka.

"It was my 25th birthday on Sunday and I was presented with a huge bunch of flowers then a band came and played and everyone sang happy birthday which was amazing," said Emma.

She has been the driving force behind the Pindar project, chartering Pete Goss's Open 50 and raising the necessary funds to make sure the boat was not just in the race but in the running for honours.

"There is a massive comaraderie at the moment but once we get out there, it will all change. It is very different from when we set out on Royal & Sun Alliance with Tracy Edwards for the bid on the Jules Verne Trophy. Then, it was one boat to target but here there are a load of competitors all with a story to tell."

Emma and Miranda, the only all female crew and the youngest pairing in the race, are competing in a class of two Open 50s so while they are anxious to make ground on the bigger and faster Open 60s, their sights will be set on beating the Italian father and son Fineschi crew.

"It will be like one long match race across the Atlantic and we are really looking forward to it. However friendly things seem dockside, we really want to beat them and we are sure we can.

"The most difficult thing for me will be the lighter airs or the choppy seas when we can't keep the speed up. I prefer the heavier winds - everything seems more frustrating when the wind is not blowing.

"We are very comfortable with the boat - all the problems we have had we have been able to sort out and we feel confident that will remain the case if anything goes wrong during the race."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.