FOR Bermuda Gold Cup skipper Blythe Walker there is nothing to compare with match racing.

And he has proved just how good he is in that format over the past couple of years in the King Edward VII Gold Cup when he finished in third place in 2006 and in fourth place last year.

Although Walker loves the match racing format, it is ironically something he only does a couple of times a year.

He said this week: "I like the intensity of it and I also like the fact that you can get a lot of great racing in a short period of time. It is one on one and while fleet racing is fun and is something I do enjoy it does not have the same intensity as match racing."

Walker represented Bermuda in the 1992 Olympics in the 470 class and then he turned to match racing and has since competed in over a dozen Bermuda Gold Cup regattas and other international match racing events.

Walker said he will be keeping the same crew he had for the past couple of years – Adam Barboza, Somers Kempe and Carola Cooper.

"I have to say that by keeping the same people it has helped a lot – the Gold Cup is really a team effort. Strangely enough we don't really do any sailing (together) throughout the year – actually if anything we sail against each other. But they are all very good and it is great having that talent on board."

This year has been fairly quiet on the water for Walker who besides sailing the International One Designs which are used in the Gold Cups, also sails J105s.

He said: "This year has been a light year for me. Besides the National Match Racing Championships, I have only been out on the water four times. Work is busy and I have a couple of kids as well."

But last month he and his crew competed at the Knickerbocker Cup staged on Manhasset Bay and Long Island Sound to get ready for next month's Gold Cup.

"We went away for that but unfortunately it was a bit of a drifter so we didn't get the practise we wanted," said Walker.

The boats used were the Colgate 26s. "They are nothing like the IOD – not even close. But it was good as we raced against sailors ranked from 12-40 – there was some good talent there and the winner will be competing this year in the Gold Cup."

That skipper was Takumi Nakamura who led the Albatross Match Racing Team out of Japan.

Nakamura, with crew Norio Igea, Nathan Hollerbach and Tetsuya Sasaki, won every match on Long Island Sound except for one on the first day of racing.

Nakamura said after his victory: "In the beginning of the regatta, we had a tough start and just tried to stay focused on the finals. We will do our best in Bermuda and will come back to the Knickerbocker Cup next year."

Walker knows that every year he is up against the best of the match racing world. And this year will be no exception.

"There is a strong line-up this year," he said.

Recalling the first time he competed in the Gold Cup, Walker said: "The first time we had nothing to lose – we were the underdogs and we just went out there to try and give them hell. Now we have raced in it about 10 times so we know what to expect."

The round robin format at the beginning can be tough, he said.

"Not having the benefit of being on the circuit like these guys, getting through the round robins is pretty tough for us," said Walker adding, "the last couple of years we have scraped into the quarterfinals."

But by that time he and his crew have started to click.

"By then we have hit our stride and we are moving – we have our team together and have worked out the cobwebs. Our coordination is a lot better and we can compete – given a couple of breaks – against them. It has allowed us to get into the semi-finals. But just getting through the round robin is tough because you are thrown up against these guys without having the practise and training."

While it would be natural to think that Walker and crew would have a bit of an advantage by sailing in local waters, the Bermuda skipper said: "Actually we don't. First of all we (Bermuda sailors) don't sail in Hamilton Harbour (where the Gold Cup action is) – we sail in the Great Sound normally. And also a lot of the (foreign) sailors are familiar with Hamilton Harbour now. But we do have a bit of an advantage in the early part of the regatta in that we are used to the boats. That gives us a little advantage over the new competitors."

And Walker said racing in Hamilton Harbour has made the Gold Cup much better over the years.

"Hamilton Harbour is great for the spectators. They can come down during their lunch hour and watch. I remember when the Gold Cup was sailed in the Great Sound and we would get very few people out there watching. Now you get people who pop down during lunch and watch. It is a lot better for the spectators and gets them more interested and involved in the sport."

And racing on the short courses in the harbour is also more exciting.

"You don't get the wind shifts or any of the exciting stuff on the Great Sound. But Hamilton Harbour is excellent – it tightens up the racing and frankly the fact that the breeze is shiftier in there makes for a better race. Someone who is behind can play the Hail Mary card and get back in the game. The course is shorter than what they used to be (in the Great Sound)."

The Bermuda skipper prefers medium to heavy weather for the competition.

"The light stuff can get a bit hairy at times in Hamilton Harbour. Light winds can be more flukey and the luck factor goes up. But medium is where the best matches take place – somewhere between eight and 12 knots. Heavier breezes is more of a survival mode," he added.

The action next month gets underway from October 7-12 on Bermuda's Hamilton Harbour in the Gold Cup presented by Argo Group.

Frenchman Mathieu Richard will be back in Bermuda in just over a month to defend his title in the 101st year of sailing for the spectacular golden trophy. In 2007, Richard defeated Bjorn Hansen of Sweden 2-0 in the finals to take the gold. Hansen will also return hoping to unseat the reigning champion. Great Britain's Ian Williams, winner of the 2006 Gold Cup, will be on hand sailing hard to regain his championship form in the Bermuda classic.

Most of the top match race sailors in the world will be on the line for the annual event organised by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Mathieu Richard is currently ranked first in the ISAF 'Open" Match Race rankings, Williams is second, Paolo Cian of Italy is ranked third and Hansen, who was ranked fourth when the invitations went out in the spring, is now ranked sixth. The same skippers were the top four in the 2007 World Match Race Tour, but with Williams first and Richard second. Eleven of the 24 competitors are in the ISAF top 20. Ian Williams and his team just scored a 3-0 victory at the conclusion of the Danish Open to win that World Match Race Tour event.

Also racing will be England's Ben Ainslie who at 31 years old is already one of Britain's top sailors having won three gold Olympic medals – the third at this past Summer Games in Beijing in the Finn Class.

But this will not be Ainslie's first visit to Bermuda sine he won the gold at the 1995 IYRU World Youth Sailing Championship here.

Ainslie's success started early – by age 16 he was already the Laser Radial World Champion. He won his first Olympic medal at the age of 19, silver in the Laser class at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The Englishman is also nominated for this year ISAF World Sailor of the Year.