High winds forced the race committee to cancel yesterday’s opening races of the International One Design World Championship on Nantucket Sound.

Winds in the racing area were reported to be 24 knots with gusts up to 28 knots and seas nearly four feet, with the conditions forecast to increase throughout the day. Nantucket International One Design Fleet rules prohibit racing in winds exceeding 23 knots.

Organisers have amended the sailing programme to allow for a practice race to be held before today’s racing.

Among the 14-boat fleet is Bermuda skipper Eugene “Penny” Simmons, the defending champion, who has won eight IOD world titles between 1985 and 2014.

Also competing is another former IOD world champion, William Widnall, who is representing the Marblehead IOD Fleet.

A total of nine races are scheduled with a minimum of four completed required to constitute a regatta, while no more than three races will be sailed on any one day.

The regatta, which runs from September 13 to 18, is being hosted by the Nantucket Yacht Club.

n Chicago is set to be added to the America's Cup world series calendar. A formal announcement is expected today, confirming Chicago as one of several stops on the 2016 tour.