Bermuda racing coach Paul Doughty is confident the Island's elite youth sailors will excel in this year's RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup which kicks off today on the Great Sound.

Bermudians occupied two of the top three spots in the overall Junior Gold Cup standings in the previous event, a feat devoted Optimist coach Doughty is confident the young Islanders can match or even surpass this time around should conditions permit.

"The good thing about this week's conditions is that they are basically everybody's conditions.

"Nobody is going to excel outside of 12 to 18 breezes in these boats," he reasoned.

"The little sailors will have to survive while the bigger sailors will have to work really, really hard because a 75 pound kid who is very good in the boat is going to be an absolute terror in this kind of regatta."

One such local sailing "terror", Doughty noted, is Sam Stan who continues to come on in leaps and bounds.

"Sam could be a problem because he can upset the consistency of some of the older sailors," Doughty added.

"I think this is going to be a regatta where either one of the foreigners will have a hot hand and have it all figured out, or one of our guys will pull it off.

"I think it's a very finely balanced regatta."

Others who Doughty has high expectations of are rising-stars Brian Bulhoes, who finished third in last year's Junior Gold Cup, Kalin Hillier, Owen Seise and Dimitri Stevens to name a few.

"Dimitri has also really come on as he was second at the Canadian Nationals this year while Brian has gotten really strong," Doughty added.

On paper, Bermuda has again assembled a formidable nucleus of sailors any of which are capable of achieving glory.

"We absolutely have the ability to win because our three or four top end sailors are all capable of winning this event.

"It will be interesting to see how things turn out and I am very excited about my group," Doughty added.

Last year saw Bermudian James Anfossi and Bulhoes place second and third respectively behind Danish winner Lyhne Bonde. Bonde and Anfossi are not competing in this year's event showcasing sailors ages 13 to 15 from 13 different countries.

The RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup will consist of three days of fleet racing on the Great Sound with the final set aside for Sunday in Hamilton Harbour amid the backdrop of the King Edward VII Gold Cup presented by Argo Group.