"I have so far collected close to 10,000 dollars in America" of the 100,000 dollars needed for the 12,900-kilometre (8,000-mile) voyage from Senegal's Goree Island to New York, Victor Mooney, 42, said in the United Arab Emirates.

His first attempt to complete the feat in May 2006 failed when his hand-made boat sank.

Mooney, executive director of New York-based non-profit organisation South African Arts International, told AFP one of his brothers died of AIDS and that another has the HIV virus.

His trip, which is expected to take between six and eight months, is meant to "raise awareness of AIDS and support the UN Millennium Goals to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015," Mooney said.

"I'm hoping that the royal family of Abu Dhabi will help out in this project," he added.

The ocean-going vessel in which Mooney will make his new attempt to row the Atlantic will be named "Spirit of Zayed" after the late ruler of oil-rich Abu Dhabi and UAE founding president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan.

The choice was made because of Zayed's "humble nature and humanity, not only with his countrymen but with people all over the world," Mooney said.