Paul Goodison intends to capitalise on his wealth of local knowledge during the MS Amlin International Moth Regatta.

The Olympic gold medal-winner and world champion has spent the past year training in the Great Sound with his Artemis Racing team-mates and, as such, will be quite familiar with the conditions which could give him the edge as he guns for Rob Greenhalgh’s title.

“I think we’ll have a bit of an advantage having done a bit of sailing here,” the British sailor said. “It is quite a big difference when you switch from the big turbos [AC45S] to the Moths.

“The biggest thing is how much more manoeuvrable these small boats are so you can tack and gybe where you want obviously not limited by course boundaries.

“It is very different but at the end you’re still on the foils and still on the Great Sound.”

Goodison finished third at this event last year and now hopes to go two better to claim bragging rights and with it the lion’s share of the $10,000 in prize money.

The Artemis helmsman will renew rivalries with compatriots Chris Rashley, the UK Moth champion, and Greenhalgh, the defending MS Amlin champion, whom he got the better of on the way to capturing a maiden Moth World title in Japan in May.

“I haven’t done much Moth sailing, to be honest, since I came back from the worlds in Japan because we’ve been super busy,” said Goodison, who won a gold medal in the Laser dinghy at the 2008 Olympics.

“The priority here for Artemis Racing obviously is the America’s Cup and it’s quite an important period right now where we’re making some big decisions about how the 50 is going to turn out and the actual America’s Cup boat. I’m really looking forward to doing some Moth sailing.

“It’s going to be extra special with all the other boats here to train with. I’m very excited to get out on the Great Sound and do some racing.”

Goodison is among a trio of Artemis sailors competing in the Moth Regatta as team-mates Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are also among the 52 strong racing fleet.

Outteridge is also a past Moth world champion and Olympic gold medal-winner, having topped the podium in the double-handed 49er at the 2012 Games in England with Jensen.

Carrying local hopes are Nathan Bailey, James Doughty, Richard Graham-Enoch, Josh Greenslade, Christian Luthi and Brett Wright.

The regatta is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and begins today with the MS Amlin Dash for Cash in Hamilton Harbour and runs until December 9.