With perennial rivals Rudy Bailey and Gladwin Lambert having both struck early season form, defending Edward Cross Cup champion Stevie Dickinson feels that next week's 62nd Annual Long Distance Comet Race could be a toss up.

The veteran East End Mini Yacht Club skipper will be gunning for an unprecedented 15th title overall when the starter's gun fires in the Great Sound next Monday. But with others in the fleet having produced strong showings in recent weeks Dickinson is wary that he might find his work cut out for him as he attempts to add to his remarkable sailing legacy.

"It could turn out to be anybody's race because Bailey has struck some good form here and there while Scott (Fox) is really starting to get up to par and sail better. He can be a pain in the neck. If the wind is going in the right direction and Scott gets his boat moving he can possibly win this thing," Dickinson said.

Then there's Gladwin Lambert, another West End skipper Dickinson will have to keep close tabs on when the fleet set sail from Somerset to St. George's Harbour.

"All of these guys are sailing quite well actually. But as far as I'm concerned they will all have to deal with me because I'm the defending champion," Dickinson said.

"I don't have no time to worry about what Bailey, Scott or Gladwin (Lambert) are doing or thinking. I just have to sail my own race and focus on what it is I have to do. And right now I think I'm beginning to come into my own."

With local conditions remaining unsettled, Dickinson has yet to choose between M'Kai Hodsoll and Pan Am Games — bound Sarah Lane Adderley as crew — a decision that could again prove decisive.

"It would be really nice to take M'Kai because he has worked very hard and improved so much. But it all depends on where the wind is and how hard it's blowing," Dickinson said.

"I don't think anybody really knows what's going to happen on Monday. It's supposed to blow 18 to 22 (knots) on Sunday but you can never know what Monday might bring. It could be the same or lighter and so the onus will be on the skippers to adjust to the conditions on the day."

Dickinson said so far pre-race preparations have gone according to script.

"I've been out a few times and the boat is sailing very good. But I'm not concentrating on boat speed at the moment but instead placing more emphasis on handling," he added.

Dickinson began competing in the Long Distance Race at the tender age of six as Stewart Tucker's crew in 1974 and only two -years later won a maiden Edward Cross Cup at the helm of Scorpion. And since then the 1993 CAC Games silver medallist has never looked back.

"Sailing is my thing and I always want to do well in any regatta I enter. I learnt how to sail in these boats and have sailed in this particular regatta 31 times going on 32," Dickinson said.

"To win it 14 times as a skipper and once as a crew is exciting and the fact that I grew up in a boat keeps me motivated. And it's always special to finish in St.George's and be greeted by your fans and people from your home town."