A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE, who owns a substantial tract of the Yorkshire Dales, has set his sights on a sailing record.

Robert Miller owns the vessel which set the best time for a transatlantic crossing by a single-hulled yacht last week.

The Mari Cha IV sailed from New York to Lizard Point, in Cornwall, in six days, 17 hours and 52 minutes - more than two days faster than the previous record holder.

Mr Miller, ranked 22nd in the Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune estimated at £975m, has indicated he would like to see the same boat make an attempt to sail around the world in 80 days as early as 2005.

Soon after docking in Falmouth, he told reporters the Mari Cha was designed to break records and a round-the-world attempt was the next logical step.

Catamarans and trimarans have achieved the same goal already but the 80-day limit has never been broken by a mono-hulled yacht before.

Mr Miller, 70, grew up near Boston, in the US, and served in the Korean War before making his name as a businessman with the Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) group in Hong Kong in the 1960s. He went on to found the Search Group, an international investment company.

As well as acquiring British citizenship, he also owns the 32,000-acre Gunnerside estate in Swaledale.

On top of the Trans-Atlantic record, Mari Cha IV also became the yacht to sail the most miles in 24 hours, chalking up more than 500 in a day