The Bermuda International Invitational Regatta starts tomorrow with registration and will continue until May 5 with prize giving.

For the International One Designs, racing will consist of ten races in the Great Sound.

This year there are 13 participants — including representatives from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden — one from Bermuda.

The regatta promises to be hotly contested as usual, as three former Bermuda Race Week Champions will be competing.

The most recent race week winner Peter Wickwire from Chester, Nova Scotia, will not be skippering this year.

He will, however, participate as tactician for Henry Arnold, from the Royal Thames Yacht Club, a European team-racing champion. Arnold will be participating for the third time.

Norwegian Jan Petter Roed is returning after an absence of a year. Petter is a former race week winner. Giles Peckham from Cowes in England will be back. Peckham won race week his last time competing in the event.

There will be two other experienced and quality sailors returning in the event: Scott Redman and David Schoeder, from the North East Harbour, Maine.

Patrick Cooper, the present Bermuda fleet champion, will be representing the Bermuda IOD fleet. His knowledge of the Great Sound makes him a top contender for the Vrengen Cup.

Richard Werdinger from the Nantucket fleet is also returning to the island and is expected to be in contention again.

From St Mawes in Cornwall are Mike Conlin and Nick Gore. They will co-helm during the week.

There will be four new competitors this year sailing in Bermuda. Wes Maxwell will be representing the Fisher’s Island fleet and will have a seasoned crew on board.

Hanna Vincent, from Marblehead Massachusetts, will be the first female skipper for sometime.

Vincent will be helming for the week but she will have seven-times world champion Bill Widnall on board as her tactician. Ted Murphy, from Chester, Nova Scotia, finished third in the IOD North Americans last year in Maine.

The final new competitor will be Rob Vellinger from San Francisco. Vellinger sailed IOD’s on Long Island Sound but now lives in San Francisco and is representing them in Bermuda.