Veteran International One Design (IOD) sailor Jordy Walker will shoulder much of the Island's Vrengen Gold Cup hopes during the annual Bermuda International Invitational Race Week, which gets underway this weekend in the Great Sound.

The 69-year-old skipper, who won overall domestic honours in the local IOD fleet last year, will compete in Race Week along with crew Lisa Spurling, Irene Conlon, daughter Elizabeth Walker and Greg Lawrence.

Walker is a past Olympian and King Edward VII Gold Cup winner and with a wealth of experience sailing in local conditions under his belt has the pedigree to mount a serious challenge for top honours during Race Week among a world class fleet that includes past world champion Bruce Dyson and current Fishers Island IOD points leader Wes Maxwell.

The seasoned campaigner sailed without a tactician last year but has since recruited daughter Elizabeth to fill the void and reinforce a bid to capture Race Week glory.

Walker won the IOD Race Week B Series title four years ago and will undoubtedly be keen to emulate, or even surpass, that impressive achievement.

"We are ready and look forward to competing with the best. The team is hot to compete," the veteran skipper declared.

"I've got three ladies and if you are going to travel with company you might as well go along with pleasant company.

"We always hope to do well and this year we have a little more experience with the boats themselves because last year the sails were brand new and we had no experience with these sails.

"They were cut very flat and we didn't go fast because we didn't know how to use the sails.

"But having said that, we've been sailing with them for over a year and so we are now pretty quick."

Also flying Bermuda's flag in the IODs this year is The Royal Gazette's own Jeff Arnst who will measure up against overseas competition for the first time in the Great Sound.

Defending A and B Series champions John Burnham and Bill Widnall are not back to defend their respective titles this year.

The IOD fleet will boast –14 skippers this year, among them three who will be making their Race Week debut.

Meanwhile, Bermuda's four-time Olympian Peter Bromby will defend his Race Week title in the Etchells while compatriots Malcolm Smith (Lasers) and Allan Williams (J-105s) will also rest their respective titles on the line this year.

A new champion will also be crowned in the J-24 fleet as last year's winner Stuart Jardine is not back to defend his title while the Snipe and Comet class will not be represented in Race Week this year.

Unlike in the past this year will see the J-24 class compete on the Bravo Course, usually reserved for the smaller dinghy class boats, along with the Lasers.

Race Week officially kicks off Sunday in the Great Sound with Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) commodore Ralph Richardson encouraging the public to come out and witness what promises to be another exciting sailing spectacle.

"We are very excited with the response this year and we are expecting a very interesting event," he said.

"We are very happy to be hosting Race Week again; it's a very exciting time for the club."

Inaugurated by RBYC in 1927, Bermuda International Invitational Race Week has become an established international yachting fixture attracting top skippers from all over the world each spring.