The Transat - Anna Kournikova To Start The Transat 2004

Omega, Official Timekeeper and Principal Partner of The Transat 2004, is pleased to announce that the brand's star ambassador will be coming to Plymouth to give the official start of The Transat 2004. At 1400hrs BST on 31 May 2004, Anna will wave off the largest professional fleet that this gruelling transatlantic yacht race has ever seen.

A great fan of adventure and extreme sports, Anna aims to make the most of her Bank Holiday Monday visit to The Transat Race Village at the Plymouth Yacht Haven. Having survived a thrilling ride down the Olympic Bobsleigh Run in St. Moritz earlier this year, her next challenge will be a unique sailing lesson with fellow Omega ambassador Ellen MacArthur on board an Open 50 class racing yacht in the morning. As the Open 60 class winner of the Europe1 NewMan STAR in 2000 (as The Transat was then known), Ellen is undoubtedly one of the best teachers Anna Kournikova could hope for and one of the best placed people to explain what will be going through the skippers' minds as they prepare to depart.

Having put her navigational skills to the test and gained a unique insight into the race from an insider, Anna will then move on to the Swan Fan Makkum berthed at the Plymouth Yacht Haven for a photocall with Ellen MacArthur from 1000-1030hrs (photocall notice will be issued in advance), after which they will board the HMS Tyne, the Royal Navy vessel that will be moored on the official start line of the race. From there, they will be ideally placed to watch the last few seconds tick away on the Omega countdown clock before Anna gives the official start and both cheer the 40 skippers in the Formula 1 of sailing as they head off for their ultimate destination of Boston.

The Transat 2004 winners and the skippers that set the 24-hour record in the monohull and multihull categories will each be presented with special Omega Seamaster Transat watches. Worn by Ellen MacArthur and Dean Barker, the Seamaster divers' watch is the cornerstone of Omega's communication in sailing. Having evolved from over 70 years of experience in producing watches for the extreme ocean environment, the Omega Seamaster is the watch of choice for those who live their life for the sea.

Photographs of Anna Kournikova taking her sailing lesson with Ellen MacArthur and her presence at the start of the race will be distributed across Europe, the US and Asia via the Keystone satellite network on 31 May at approx 1500hrs BST. These photographs will also be available for download from the press corner on the Omega website (username: transat; password: transat), with additional images available from 1 June.

For latest information on The Transat, please go to: http://www.thetransat.com