ACTION begins today at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta after months of anticipation by the world’s top sailors and windsurfers.

Weymouth and Portland’s Sailing stars are among the Team GB members looking to ‘stamp their authority’ on the Olympic waters.

Skandia Team GBR Olympic manager Stephen Park said the waters of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy were ‘really starting to warm up as an Olympic venue.’ He said: “For most countries this is the dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games.

“We’ve got almost our entire team here.

“It’s the first time since Beijing that we’ve had all our top sailors in one place with a real Games’ focus, so it’s really exciting for us.

“We need to put down a marker so people know when they come to Weymouth they should expect to be fighting for second place, because the Brits are going to be taking the top place on the podium.”

Park added that it was ‘really hitting home’ that international sailors would be training here right up until the Games.

He said the home advantage included the Team GB accommodation block RYA Portland House at Osprey Quay, a high performance unit with a gym and boat workshop at Portland Marina and the National Sailing Academy facilities.

A record number of 973 athletes from 56 nations will be competing in the fifth annual Sail for Gold, which is the fifth and final instalment of this year’s International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup regatta – the biggest world cup event of 2010.

Park urged borough residents and visitors to come and meet the sailors.

He said: “People can come down on site and watch – something the public won’t be able to do at Games time when the Olympic site is on lock down.

“At Sail for Gold visitors are positively encouraged to get involved.

“They can chat to the sailors they see on TV and really feel part of the team to the run up to the Games itself.

“We’ve got just under 1,000 sailors taking part this week whereas a maximum of 380 sailors can compete at the Games.”

Big names to look out for include Britain’s triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, Star world champions Andrew Simpson and Iain Percy, Weymouth’s double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Dempsey and 470 crew Saskia Clark, bronze medallist windsurfers Bryony Shaw and Nick Dempsey and world and Olympic Laser champion Paul Goodison.

Recently-crowned world champions in the Skud class, Alexandra Rickman and Niki Birrell, of Portland will be among the Paralympians ‘taking on the rest of the world on home turf.’ Find out more and download free Spectator Day event tickets at the website skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk