Veteran sailor Tim Patton will come up against some of the world's elite during the upcoming Audi Etchells Worlds to be hosted by the Royal Brighton Yacht Club in Melbourne, Australia from March 8-14.

Patton and crew of Peter Martin and David Morrell of Australia are among the 85-strong fleet that will bid for honours when competition commences on Sunday.

The Bermudian sailor left for Down Under on Monday for final preparations and remained optimistic he could put his best foot forward.

"If we can finish in the top half of the fleet, then we would have done very well because it's a very deep fleet," Patton told The Royal Gazette. "So far preparations have been going fairly smoothly and we have been sailing pretty good."

Also flying the Island's banner in Melbourne will be compatriots Martin Bezina, Allan Frith and Bill Gravelle.

Patton's best showing to date at the Etchells Worlds arrived in 1988 when he placed fourth in Sydney, Australia. However, the skipper, who won last year's Canadian Olympic Regatta Kingston in Toronto, will certainly have his work cut out as also competing in Melbourne are past Americas Cup winner John Bertrand and England's multiple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie who placed third overall in last year's King Edward VII Gold Cup in Bermuda.

Patton plans to use his previous experience sailing in Australia to his advantage, but admitted competing in a larger fleet would take some adjusting.

"The tough thing is the transition from the small fleets here in Bermuda to the enormous fleets that we will encounter in Melbourne. That's always a tough transition, but we are going to do our best," he added.

He is also bracing himself for what he anticipates will be very "interesting" starts with all skippers looking to make the early jump and get clean air on their main heading to the first windward mark.

"The starts and the first windward leg are pretty vital," Patton said. "Everyone goes out at the same time which makes for some interesting starts."

Among the home town favourites to win the Etchells Worlds are Queensland's Mark Bradford and past world champion Jud Smith of Sydney.

Also competing abroad this week are Bermudian sailors Jon Corless, Walter Smith and Rick Thompson at the KPMG International J-22 Invitational in the Cayman Islands.