Local sailing icon Paula Lewin Crews and this year's National Match Racing champion Blythe Walker will be going up against the best in the business as they join the fleet for this week's World Match Racing Tour Argo Group Gold Cup that gets underway in Hamilton Harbour today.

The elite competition offers a total purse of $100,000 to be distributed among the eight finishers,. meaning there'll be plenty at stake.

However, neither Lewin nor Walker will be intimidated as both are considered veterans of the annual quest for the coveted 102 year-old King Edward VII trophy.

Match racing is emerging as one of the Island's strongest areas in sailing and both Lewin and Walker are among the most talented.

"We look forward to this event every year and although our focus is a little different than some of the visiting teams, I love match racing and we put our game on and try and do well," said Walker, who will be racing with team-mates Somers Kempe, Adam Barboza and Will Thompson.

"This is our premier sailing event here in Bermuda and the format is awesome as it allows unseeded teams to compete against the highest ranking teams in our sport."

Walker and his team hope to reach beyond the round-robin into the final matches but admitted that they had not been able to train and compete at the same level as the professional teams from Australia, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland, England, Portugal, France and the USA.

But the 24-team format means that any of the pro skippers can be knocked out early on and end up spending the week on the beach.

"For me, match racing is like a track and field event. It's like a sprint and it's fast and decided on the water," said Walker.

"This year, we see a lot of young teams coming up and new blood is always good for an event. Every year, there are always a couple of surprises."

For Lewin Crews and her team of sister Peta White, Lisa Neasham, Dianna Mitchell and Leatrice Roma, the appeal of this event is that it provides an exciting challenge and good, close racing.

"The goal is to sail well and although we haven't been sailing at the same level as some of the competitors, we love going against the best in the world but it will be tough. Our goals are to make every race a good, close race," said Lewin Crews.

She admitted that she would like to see more women competing at this level of match racing or see a parallel event take place where the world's women could race against each other.

She noted the International One Design was "a very physical boat and a tough boat to sail in heavy air" and felt that it would be beneficial for Bermuda and the young sailors here to see how a group of international women match races would perform.

Although Lewin Crews is not considering the 2012 Olympics, she knows many from the international circuit who will be there.

"A few years ago we had a women's international match racing event alongside the Gold Cup and it was fantastic," she recalled.

"Now, we are juggling work and family responsibilities.

"But we do have our expectations well managed. We are excited to compete and plan to have a great time this week sailing well."

Racing starts this morning at 9 a.m. Spectators can watch from the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club down to the Princess Hotel. Daily press conferences, scheduled for 5 p.m. are open to the public.