My New Mary will have a new skipper and crew on board on Monday when Rudy Bailey sails with his 13-year-old grandson, Corey Bean, for the first time in the Long Distance Comet Race from Dockyard to St George’s.

Bailey managed to secure Howard Simmons’s boat for the popular race which is now in its 73rd year. And he does not intend to just make up the numbers in his first race in four years, aiming to end the winning streak of Stevie Dickinson who is looking for a twentieth title overall.

“I’m happy I can sail, I’ll just see if I can make it back in again,” said Bailey whose own boat, Temptation, was badly damaged by Hurricane Fay a couple of years ago.

“Bailey will spend the weekend fine-tuning the rigging and getting it ready for the long trek to the East End.

“It’s been sitting there for about four or five years, but I still expect to win,” added Bailey, throwing down the challenge to Dickinson as the pre-race excitement builds. “I haven’t looked at it but it should be fine.”

Bailey has a total of eleven victories, though just one win since clinching his tenth title in 2007.