Tim Patton will be sailing into the eye of the storm in more ways than one when he takes to the water this weekend for the Etchells World Championships.

For Patton, who will be accompanied by his crew of Robert Billingham and William Thompson, will be among a massive fleet of 98 boats on the starting line at Greenwich, Connecticut for the event which is scheduled to begin on Sunday, Hurricane Isabel allowing.

Forecasters say the Category Four storm will hit the East Coast anywhere from North Carolina to New Jersey with winds up to 130mph late on Thursday or early Friday.

However, Patton, who is chairman of the board of governors of the International Etchells Class Association, says the regatta will go ahead, even if it has to be put back two or three days.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely," he said yesterday afternoon. "It depends on where it goes ashore.

"We will look at it in 36 hours and see what the projected path is expected to be and what the intensity is expected to be. Both the yacht clubs are fairly close to sea level, as one would expect, and if need be we will have to have an enormous work priority, get the rigs out of them and move them inland somewhat.

"But there's almost no chance that it will be cancelled," he added. "The storm is due to arrive before the sailing starts and we have a full week in which to get in six races. We only need six races to have a championship and there are nine possible races scheduled.

"Even if we started on Monday or Tuesday and we had to have a couple of double race days, we can still get the regatta in."

All things being equal, the championships will start as planned and competition will be intense. Nine countries from around the globe will be represented and among them will be some of the world's top skippers. These include Dennis Conner, a.k.a. Mr. America's Cup, whose most recent campaign was this year as the head of the New York Yacht Club syndicate. An avid Star Class and Etchells racer, he is best known for winning the America's Cup in 1987 and 1988.

Ken Read, helmsman for Conner's Stars & Stripes, will also be present. He is a two-time winner of the Etchells North American Championships and in addition has been named Rolex Yachtsman of the Year on two occasions.

Patton, therefore, is realistic about his chances.

"It's almost a 100 boat fleet," he said. "I would think that if we can get in top half we have done well. If we can get into the top 20 I would find that extremely satisfying. The depth of the fleet is phenomenal."

Certainly, Patton and his crew have the credentials to achieve their goal. Thompson sailed with Patton to a fifth place finish in last year's European Championships and Billingham is, as the skipper puts it, "a bit of a legend".

"He is an Olympic silver medallist as a crew and he has sailed on a winning America's Cup boat. He brings an enormous amount to the team," he said.

Putting that knowledge and seamanship into practice as everyone fights for position when the gun sounds is an altogether different question though.

"It's pretty awesome because the boats are so big - 30ft 6ins long," Patton said. "I think it's probably the biggest boat you get on any starting line. There are bigger fleets of smaller boats, for instance the Stars, but they are considerably smaller.

"But the rules are written and if everyone obeys them it should be OK. There are of course interpretations. It's hectic, the starts are hectic, the mark roundings are hectic to put it mildly, chaos might be another description, but it is a world championship and the standard of competitor there is very high."

Asked what tactics he might employ, Patton said it was a case of brain over brawn.

"Sailing is a wonderful sport in that even though I am getting older I am getting better at it," he said. "So much of it is a cerebral exercise. We are all still learning. I am going to be better and better dealing with the situations that come up."

That continued progress is in part, Patton says, down to the friendship he has with Bermuda's Olympic sailor Peter Bromby.

"I am sailing against Peter on a weekly basis and he just makes you better," he said.

At the end of the day, Patton will just be happy if the event is an overall success, adding that he felt no pressure on his shoulders to perform well in front of those he represents.

"No, the only pressure is trying to be involved a bit in the organisation as well as trying to concentrate on sailing," he said.

Paula Lewin, and crew of Peta Lewin and Maria Lopez, fell one place to 14th after yesterday's pair of races at the ISAF Olympic Sailing World Championships in Cadiz, Spain.

Lewin, sailing in the Yngling Class, finished 17th and 15th out of the 41 boats for a points total of 59.