The Bermuda Gold Cup has received a boost in the shape of a new title sponsor, Colorcraft.

As a result, the prize money purse for the Island's most prestigious sailing event has increased by $15,000, from $60,000 to $75,000.

Organisers the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club have also brought the week of match-racing forward by a month to allow some of the world's top skippers, who will be involved in the America's Cup in New Zealand in October, to take part.

The Gold Cup is normally held in October, but this year's 51st running will instead be held from September 12 to 19.

Colorcraft is a printing company which started up in Hong Kong, expanded into North America and is now establishing its international headquarters in Bermuda.

So far, top skippers Chris Law, of Britain, and Marcus Weiser, of Germany, have confirmed their availability for the event, and are likely to be seeded.

But last year's winner Russell Coutts is heavily involved in Team New Zealand's bid to retain the America's Cup and is still not sure whether he will be able to return to Bermuda.

Tournament director Scott Macleod said that many top skippers would face a hectic autumn with America's Cup challenger races starting on October 10.

"It's very difficult for these guys to know this early what their schedule is going to be,'' said MacLeod. "They have to work out when they can ship out their boats and when they must start training and we are trying our best to fit in with that.'' The Gold Cup has never had problems attracting top skippers. As a grade one match-racing event, it can earn them points towards world rankings. In recent years, the tournament has been without a title sponsor, but MacLeod felt it had survived with its prestige intact.

"The important thing is that the top skippers have kept on coming here, he added.

"They know that if they have ambitions of becoming an America's Cup winning helmsman -- that is the pinnacle of the sport -- then winning the Gold Cup can help them get there.

"This is a tough event to win and in the last four or five years, the Cup has been shared between numbers one and two in the world.'' MacLeod said most of the cash injection provided by Colorcraft had been pumped into the prize money purse.

"Overall the money behind the event has gone up, but we have tried to put the bulk of that money into increasing the first prize,'' he said.

"The Gold Cup was always known as offering the best prize money in the world.'' In this year's Gold Cup, there will be 24 teams taking part -- eight seeded, invited skippers and 16 unseeded, open-entry skippers. Organisers have already received eight unseeded entries.

The tournament will be split into two sections, with the 16 unseeded skippers being split into two groups of eight for round-robin qualifying races.

Youth challenge: Bermuda is sending two young crews to Kupio, Finland to compete in this year's ISAF Youth Worlds Sailing Championships, which begin today. Skipper Jonathan Carter and his crew Tim Steinhoff will sail in the boys' double-handed event, while AJ Crane and Sharmonie Thamotheram will compete in the girls' event.