Due to be launched this month should be another world-beating Dreadnought for the Royal Navy – but this one lacks the firepower of her namesake.

The only front-line Lt Cdr Keri Harris wants his yacht to be on is at the head of the 2005 Mini-Transat Race.

The RN Dinghy Team captain and Inter-Services Sailing Champion in the Olympic Laser class is planning his next, and most ambitious assault on the waves.

With his state-of-the-art yacht, which is due to be completed in Devonport in July, the staff officer with Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) is hopeful he can beat off competition from 70 other yachtsmen and women – that’s if he qualifies for the Brittany-Brazil race in the first place.

Qualification includes a 1,000-mile solo passage in the Atlantic, plus the successful completion of another long-distance race, in Lt Harris’ case the 500-mile non-stop Triangle du Soleil – Sun Triangle – race around the Mediterranean next month.

“I am confident of my chances of winning the Transat,” the officer said. “I am no stranger to high-speed sailing or international competition, and my Naval career has armed me with additional skills over my competitors, be it weather routing, coping with sleep deprivation or project management.

“I’m actively seeking sponsorship, as I still have financial hurdles to overcome and need to fit in the race and qualifiers around my career appointments.”

The Mini-Transat is one of the toughest solo offshore races in the world, not least because diminutive 6.5 metre yachts race with a sail area of a boat twice their size. They are fast, wet, extreme racing machines with no concessions to comfort.

Beyond his racing pedigree, the FOST officer has a winning team behind the scenes – the Owen Clarke Design Group, who were responsible for Ellen MacArthur’s famous Kingfisher, have come up with the plans for Lt Harris’ Dreadnought.

The boat should be capable of downwind speeds in excess of 20kts, as the yachtsman will learn this summer.

“Qualification is a necessary process to prove that the sailor and his yacht are able to withstand the rigours of a solo trans-Atlantic race,” he added.