Bermuda will be represented by two skippers at this summer's J-24 World Championships in Sardinia, Italy.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) pair Peter Ramsdale and Trevor Boyce will mix it up with some of the best sailors the J-24 class has to offer in June.

Ramsdale is making a fifth appearance at the Worlds while this year represents Boyce's third.

Both skippers are looking forward to competing in Italy, with Ramsdale determined to improve on his previous best finish (33rd) at the 2006 championships held in Melbourne, Australia.

He will be joined onboard by crew Shelagh Tasker, Ann Symons, Becky Davies and past Bermuda resident Pete Morgan.

The team raced together during last year's Bermuda International Invitational Race Week, placing a respectable third, and are bracing for what Ramsdale anticipates will be a very "tough" day at the office when the starter's gun fires in Sardinia.

"We expect the racing in Sardinia to be tough and we're hoping for their famous breezes, as we prefer it to light air sailing which isn't a strength of ours," he said.

"Our practices have focused on starting as it is hard to recover from a poor start in such a large fleet.

"The first hurdle, though, is the measurement process. The measurers are very strict and typically all boats will need some modification before launching which can take two or three days work.

"Coming out of this, though, is a fleet of evenly matched boats and it's then just down to the sailors to perform."

Ramsdale says he has "realistic" expectations heading into the regatta and remains optimistic he can achieve his goals among the world's largest keelboat class.

"We'll be satisfied if we work hard and compete well as a team," he said.

Like his RBYC stablemate, Boyce is also looking to make inroads at the regatta after finishing in the lower end of the fleet in his last appearance over a decade ago.

"We are hoping to do a lot better this time around having sailed the J-24s a lot longer now. We understand a bit more about what we are doing," he said.

"We understand the Worlds is a whole different level from what we are doing here. But if we could make the top half of the fleet we would be very happy

with that."

Boyce is presently competing in International Race Week with David Fisher who will accompany the 54-year old skipper to Italy this summer along with Gary Taylor and Jorce Chiappiarro. A fourth crew member from Italy will join the team on their arrival in Europe and his experience of local sailing conditions could prove invaluable for Boyce.

"The class is full of good sailors," Boyce added. "It will be very windy in Italy which we prefer and hopefully that will help.

"We are looking forward to it because it's always a lot of fun. It's always fun to go away and sail for Bermuda.

"The last time we competed at the World Championships we managed to put 20 boats behind us, which is not too bad when you are competing against professional sailors."