HUNDREDS of sailors from around the globe will take to the waters of Weymouth Bay for an Olympic test this summer.

The London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has announced plans for the event from July 31 to August 13.

More than 380 sailors from 60 nations are expected to take part in the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011 at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

It will be one of 42 test events run by LOCOG to test systems, equipment, workforce and procedures ahead of next summer’s Olympics.

CEO at LOCOG Paul Deighton said: “LOCOG’s testing programme is all about road testing our operational plans on the water to make sure we have all the knowledge we need to deliver a truly memorable Games in 2012 and learn any lessons in advance.

“The Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011 provides a great opportunity for athletes who may well be selected for the Games to come and sail on the same waters at the same time of year to learn as much as they can about the conditions Weymouth Bay might offer them in 2012.

"Weymouth and Portland is a fantastic Sailing venue and we’re looking forward to welcoming the teams here and delivering a world class regatta this summer.”

The 12-day event will feature up to 170 races, with the number of competitors similar to what is expected for the Olympics next summer.

A fleet of race management and safety boats manned by specialist volunteers and technical officials will be in the water. The team of nearly 500 staff that will oversee the Olympic sailing events will be brought together for the first time.

This will include 37 LOCOG staff, 63 international technical officials, 128 national technical officials, 106 sailing specialist test event volunteers and 126 general test event volunteers.

One third of all test event volunteers are expected to come from Weymouth and Portland and the rest of Dorset.

The event will also offer an opportunity for LOCOG to test the Swiss Timing GPS tracking system and the GPS data that will drive its television graphics.

There will be no tickets on sale for the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta and the ticketed spectator experience at the Nothe Gardens will not be tested as the proposal remains subject to planning consent.