From world champions to exciting young talent, Bermuda’s waters will be populated by the best sailors on the planet this week.

The 73rd Bermuda Gold Cup tops the bill with eight of the leading male skippers in the world fighting to get their hands on the prestigious King Edward VII Gold Cup, the oldest match-racing trophy in the world.

Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson will be attempting for a hat-trick of wins and his fifth overall, in Hamilton Harbour, with racing beginning today.

But he will face a tough battle against world Nos 1 and 2, Chris Poole, who has yet to win this Bermuda regatta, and Eric Bonnin, an unlucky loser in the event last year.

The men do not have it all to themselves this week, with the Women’s Match Racing Tour season promising an exciting conclusion at the Aspen Women’s Match Race Regatta.

Frenchwoman Pauline Courtois could treat her time in Hamilton as a lap of honour after holding an unassailable lead in the championship, but she is likely to use this event to underline her continuing superiority.

Courtois won the event in light winds last year, edging out Sweden’s Anna Ostling 2-1 in a tense final.

But the Swedish sailor is back for more and is confident that she will again be challenging for top spot.

“This is one event we have not won yet, but we love the boats and the shifty conditions, so we are up for the task and aiming to perform to our highest level this year,” she said.

“We are doing what we can to prepare and can’t wait to come back to the club, the crystal-clear water and all our friends on the island.”

The best young sailors are also in action in the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup, with the top Optimist sailors in Bermuda taking on nascent talent from overseas.

Two sets of twins, one from Ireland and one from Norway, are competing, with the action scheduled to start in the Great Sound tomorrow morning.