In nearly four decades of sailing, Stevie Dickinson has competed in just about everything that floats.

Optimist, Comets, Lasers, Tornadoes, Snipes, IODs, Etchells, J-24s, Sunfish and fitted dinghies . . . the 45-year-old skipper has sailed them all, and done so on three different continents.

Now Dickinson intends to push the envelop even further, recommitting himself to sailing with crew Ty Trott in in the Comet class, helming Sandys Boat Club's fitted dinghy and returning to the Snipe class in the not-so-distant future.

Breaking with tradition, the East End skipper agreed to helm a Somerset boat moored in Mangrove Bay ? the very waters where a teenage Dickinson first began his gradual ascent in the sport in an Optimist and, albeit unknowingly at the time, a fierce and what would become a perennial rivalry with fellow Comet skipper Rudy Bailey.

"I guess you can say that I've stirred up the waters a bit . . . a St.George's boy sailing in a Somerset boat," Dickinson smiled.

During 39 years of sailing competitively, Dickinson has sailed in Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Argentina, Norway and also Switzerland and is the proud owner of a Central American and Caribbean Championships (CAC) silver medal won while competing in the Snipes along with crew Heath Foggo.

Dickinson and Foggo also won the Edward Cross Long Distance Race sailing in in 2001.

The veteran skipper began sailing at the tender age of six. Ten years later he won the first of 13 Edward Cross titles onboard his first Comet ? a boat built by Nelson Lambe.

Lambe is also a previous Edward Cross Long Distance Race winner, having achieved his sole victory onboard in 1975 ? the same year Dickinson finished third in his maiden voyage down North Shore as a skipper at the age of 14.

"My father (Oliver Dickinson sr) actually started me off sailing and at the age of 11 I used to have this sailing punt. It was an old-time rowing punt with a flat bottom and square sides that sat about 12 inches from the water. Then at 14 my father bought me my first Comet ()," Dickinson recalled.

"But before I got my first Comet I did sail in the Optimists for about two years with Mrs. Cooper. We used to sail a lot in Somerset between Mangrove Bay and the West End Sail Boat Club. But I didn't learn how to sail in Somerset . . . let's get that right."

Dickinson received considerable sailing tutoring from late ship builder and legendary Comet skipper Alton Millett.

Millet previously held the record for the most Edward Cross titles (11) that Dickinson bettered in 2000, fittingly onboard his mentor's former boat in which he still competes to this day.

Millett, who won his first Long Distance title in 1955 and last in 1983, remains the only skipper to have won the annual regatta four times on the trot and the only one to have won three successive titles on two separate occasions.

Dickinson's arch rival Bailey is presently on the verge of becoming the first skipper since Millett to win three Edward Cross cups in succession on two separate occasions having won the last two regattas convincingly.

"He (Millett) used to own a boat shed of his own," Dickinson continued. "He used to build and repair boats . . . he was simply excellent. One day he took the deck off of my little boat and put another one on it. We began to talk a lot about sailing and then I began racing against him in St.George's.

"I know sometimes he didn't like the fact that I was beating him. But that was okay because eventually we became really close."

Dickinson said he is enjoying his debut season competing in a fitted dinghy.

"The only difference in sailing a fitted dinghy is that more crew work is involved and really what you are trying to do is stay afloat. But once you get your confidence in the boat it feels really good sailing them," he explained.

"I used to sail the (for St.George's Dinghy Club) years ago but I never helmed the boat. I was always on the main sheet. To be out there racing in these boats that are rich in history gives me a nice feeling. And it's also a nice feeling to be given the opportunity to really skipper one of these boats."

The opportunity to sail in came about when regular skipper Michael Taylor, after being involved in an accident, asked Dickinson if he would he be interested in taking over the helm.

"I replied 'why not'? It's a different challenge and experience for me and so I just thought it would be a good change," added Dickinson, who also hopes to return to the Snipe Class in the not so distant future.

"For many years I was out of Comets and was deep into sailing Snipes. I sort of moved away from Comets and at one time the only real big race I was racing was the Long Distance Race because I was also racing in the Snipes. I really like sailing in the Snipe because it is a boat that has taken me all over the world," he explained.

"I would love to be a very consistent Snipe sailor travelling and competing against the best in the class worldwide. I still have my Snipe and I'm in the process of fixing it up a bit because I do want to get back in the class and perhaps travel abroad to compete in regattas. That's a lot of fun and there are a lot of people who I know around the world in the class.

"All of my sailing experience in the Snipes so far has been a good learning process for me. I've just about sailed in everything and have yet to reach my prime or hit that peak. I'm actually still trying to sail as fast as I possibly can."