Hamilton Harbour has proven to be happy hunting ground for Taylor Canfield and his Stars+Stripes Team USA.

It is a trend the US Virgin Islands helmsman hopes to see continue as he and his fellow team-mates go about defending their title at the Bermuda Gold Cup, which starts today.

“I am feeling good and it’s always good to be back here,” Canfield told The Royal Gazette.

“I always say it’s one of the favourite events on the World Match Racing Tour. I haven’t done match racing lately so it’s good to be back into it and we are looking forward to it. I’ve got a great team so I am excited to be back here in paradise.”

Canfield and his fellow colleagues won the World Match Racing Tour regatta for the third time in 2020, with victory over defending champion and six-times tour champion Ian Williams and GAC Pindar.

The American team will again have their work cut out competing against the likes of two-times winner Williams, world No 1 and new US match-racing champion Chris Poole and the reigning Open Match Racing world champion Nick Egnot-Johnson as she attempts to lift the prestigious King Edward VII Gold Cup.

“There’s definitely a lot of people that have been doing a lot more than we have been doing, but we are not worried,” Canfield added.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting better every day as we always say. I think if we do that we pretty much guarantee ourselves of being there on the final day.”

Canfield achieved an impressive double three years ago when the previous Gold Cup served jointly as the 2020 Open Match Racing World Championships, which reverted to a one-off event as a result of the postponement or cancellation of many regattas owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 34-year-old has added incentive to put his best foot forward in the hopes of qualifying for the season-ending World Match Racing Tour Final, which will feature the top 11 teams in the Tour standings in Shenzhen, China, from December 12 to 17.

“It might be a little bit tricky but we are here hoping to qualify and then make a decision,” said Canfield, who is among an exclusive group of company to have won the Gold Cup three or more times, including New Zealand’s Sir Russell Coutts and Bermuda’s A.F. “Bert” Darrell.

Canfield and his team-mates arrived late to the island on Monday after competing at the M32 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, and they were among the last teams to practise in the International One Design sloop in Hamilton Harbour.

“It will be a change for sure,” Canfield said.

“We had a lot rain, windy and cold weather [in Newport], so it feels like we are back in paradise here.

“I think we were doing 26 knots downwind yesterday [Sunday] and this will be more like six knots, so we will figure it out. We do so much sailing in all different types of boats I think we can adapt pretty quickly.”

Also excited to be back for the Gold Cup is Williams and his GAC Pindar colleagues.

“I’m not really setting any expectations but we will go and give it our best shot,” he said.

“We are not as prepared as we would like to be. We last match raced in Congressional Cup in April and haven’t done any practice since then, but you never know with match racing. You just have to get into the next round and anything can happen, so we are hoping to build through the regatta.

“I guess there’s a lot of uncertainty with some different teams and always with these boats it’s a challenge for everybody how we will go when we get that feel back for them.

“Over many years we have spent quite a bit of time in these boats and having those notes and that recollection definitely helps.

“We have been talking about how we can improve on previous years and sail the boat better, so there’s still a lot to learn.”

Williams is thrilled to see the Bermuda Gold Cup up and running again after a three-year hiatus.

“I think the world of sailing needs the Bermuda Gold Cup so it’s been a real shame not to be here for the last couple of years,” he added.

“It’s fantastic the regatta is back on and great kudos to the club for getting it going again.

“I know it’s not easy, especially after a break, to get things going, so great job by everybody involved and we are excited to get going again.”

Carrying Bermuda’s hopes this year is national IOD match racing champion Joshua Greenslade.

His team also had the opportunity to fine tune their preparations for the event during yesterday’s final practice sessions.