Bermuda will host next year’s M32 Winter Series showcasing the world’s elite match racing sailors in the high-performance catamaran.

The series will include four separate events and take place between January and April, organisers said yesterday.

“The Winter Series for the M32 fleet in North America, as well a lot of the sailors in Europe, will be in Bermuda over the winter,” Hakan Svensson, the CEO and owner of Aston Harald AB and the World Match Racing Tour, said.

“The series will consist of four events, each from Friday until Sunday, and each day we will do probably six, seven races.”

Among the world’s elite match racing skippers expected to compete in the Winter Series Bermuda are former Argo Group Gold Cup winners Ian Williams, Johnie Berntsson and Taylor Canfield, the reigning M32 Scandinavian champion.

“If we can get them all to come here throughout the winter and sail a bit that would encourage everyone I think,” Svensson said.

Organisers have already identified Hamilton Harbour as a potential venue to host next year’s regatta.

“The harbour is big enough for that type of racing which means it’s going to be quite exciting for the audience,” Svensson added.

“The more boats we have here the more the local community will probably like to go and sail on them.

Up to 12 M32 catamarans will be kept at Darrell’s Island, with some of them to remain in Bermuda once the series concludes.

“We are working with Darrell’s Island which has space for around ten to 12 boats and I’m also bringing my boat here,” Svensson said. “After the series ends some of the boats will go back to the US, some of them back to Europe and some will stay here.”

After the announcement of Aston Harald AB’s acquisition of the ISAF-sanctioned World Match Racing Tour in June, there has been a shift in emphasis towards the high-performance M32 catamaran for next year’s championship.

“We’re looking to expand the Tour in terms of the number of events, as well as qualifying events and then to run them in the M32s, of course, because one: we are interested in sailing the boats, and secondly to make it an equal platform for everyone so everyone has the same chance,” Svensson said.

“Once they learn the tool, it will just be about the human performance that is the difference. I am now building 24 boats where eight will go to Asia, eight in Europe and eight in America.”

The Swede is on Island for discussions with organisers of the Argo Group Gold Cup over the possibility of replacing the International One Design sloop with the M32 catamaran.

“We are still in discussions about that and I hope it will go that way,” Svensson said. “I will do everything to encourage them to go that way and that’s pretty much where we stand right now.

“There are a number of clubs that we’re working with and talking to around the world who want to become a hub for the M32 circuit, where they will run match racing events, run fleet racing events and have academies for youngsters.

“The whole revenue stream is going toward the clubs and that was an important part for me.

“We want to make sure the clubs are actually making money from activities they are doing and not just a few events so it’s a continuing business.”