The Bermuda National Match Racing Championships take place today in Hamilton Harbour with crews battling it out to claim the Bacardi Cup and a place in the prestigious Gold Cup this October.

Five skippers have accepted an invitation to the race, with the likes of established sailors Blythe Walker, Paula Lewin Crews and Jordy Walker taking on youngsters Lance Fraser and Ben Nicholls.

Walker and Crews have already been invited to sail for the King Edward VII Gold Cup Trophy in the Argo Group regatta this year. If another skipper wins the Bermuda Championships, three of the Island's skippers will be competing in what is regarded as the most prestigious event on Bermuda's sailing calendar.

The teams will sail the same International One Design (IOD) boats that are used for the Argo Group Gold Cup, and will compete in a round-robin where skippers will sail a two-boat match against each other.

While the likes of Walker and Crews are among the favourites to claim the cup, Fraser is considered a rising star of Bermuda sailing, and put in an impressive performance to finish second with a young crew in the J24 competition at Race Week in April.

Nicholls and crew, meanwhile, are competing in the Bacardi Cup for the first time and could spring a surprise on the more established members of the event, while veteran Jordy Walker will also harbour hopes of coming away with the title.