Branson and Ainslie begin transatlantic record attempt

LONDON, England (CNN) -- What happens when a billionaire and a gold medal-winning sailor come together?

The answer is a new attempt to make the fastest crossing of the Atlantic.

And it is shaping as a challenge that record-book writers should watch very closely.

Richard Branson, along with British sailing gold-medallist Ben Ainslie, and Mike Sanderson -- the New Zealand director of Britain's new America's Cup syndicate, Team Origin -- are among the crew aboard the 100 foot super maxi yacht Virgin Money (formerly Speedboat), which has just begun its mission of breaking the transatlantic sailing record.

The team set out from New York Harbor, at around 2 am Wednesday (local time) on the record attempt.

The time they are trying to beat is held by skipper Sanderson, who achieved the current transatlantic record of 6 days, 27 hours and 52 minutes in 2003 aboard Robert Millar's Mari Cha IV.

The 24-strong crew, which includes Branson's son Sam and daughter Holly, as well as other members of Team Origin, are expected to face rough conditions in the North Atlantic before moving east to finish at Lizard Point, off the coast of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.

Storms are forecast for the first 24 hours of the journey, and have forced the team to move the departure time four hours forward of the initial plan.

However, the weather system over the Atlantic is expected to produce the best possible conditions to break the record.

Despite a hugely successful sailing career, the experience is a new challenge for three time Olympic gold medallist Ainslie, who has never crossed the Atlantic in a yacht.

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Before setting off on the journey Ainslie told the Telegraph newspaper, "I'm expecting it to be pretty intense for the first few days at least. I'm really excited about the boat. From what I hear she is an absolute beast."