WEYMOUTH and Portland is in the running to host the most prestigious sailing competition in the world.

The resort is vying with other sailing hotspots on the south coast to stage the America's Cup under a £100 million bid.

Multi-millionaire businessman and amateur sailor Sir Keith Mills has launched the ambitious campaign to win the coveted trophy.

Experts estimate that the staging of the cup would bring a boost of up to £500 million to the south coast of England.

Sailing enthusiasts threw their weight behind Weymouth and Portland as the resort's reputation soars with the Olympic sailing events due to be hosted at the sailing academy in 2012.

John Tweed, who is the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy director of development, said: "If we did get it, it would be an immeasurable benefit to the area.

"There's a lot of data to show that when Auckland in New Zealand hosted the cup the financial benefits were immense.

"We would be drawing in a lot of big boats and a lot of spectators."

Sir Keith launched the ambitious scheme at the Design Museum in London yesterday. He aims to win the cup within the next five years, which would then mean a venue on the south coast of England hosting the competition when it is defended in home waters.

Sir Keith, who is also chief executive of the London 2012 Olympic bid, said: "We intend to build a team capable of winning the America's Cup to bring the cup back to Britain for the first time since 1851.

"The reason that we have announced the launch now is that there is so much to be done while the current 32nd America's Cup is underway.

"We will be contracting team members, establishing our UK base, acquiring necessary assets and discussing the opportunity with prospective syndicate members and sponsors. In essence, we are open for business."

A source close to Sir Keith said that south coast waters had been earmarked as the venue and refused to rule out Weymouth as a base for the team.

He added that an official announcement would be made over the coming weeks. But this is not the first time Weymouth has been at the forefront of British America's Cup bids.

In 1996 the Royal Dorset Yacht Club launched an audacious bid for the cup - and consequently the right to host the event.

But by 1999 the syndicate behind the bid was forced to back out because it could not drum up enough sponsorship.

Such a recurrence of cash-flow problems is unlikely with the latest bid as Sir Keith has agreed to underwrite the entire project, although he expects 50 per cent of the costs to come from sponsorship.

Vice-commodore Gareth Peaston, of the Royal Dorset Yacht Club, said: "The boost to the area would be absolutely huge.

"I remember when Perth held the America's Cup in the 1980s. There was a place called Fremantle which had certainly seen better days.

"But by the time they had finished it was one of the top places in Australia to live."

The team will now pick a UK base to start off the attempt in the next six months while the present competition takes place.

Britain has never won the cup after losing the inaugural competition to the Americans off the Isle of Wight in 1851.

Sir Keith aims to bring the cup - dubbed the Holy Grail of sailing - home for the first time, either in 2009 or, more realistically, 2011.

The new team, which will be called Origin to reflect the history of the trophy, will comprise some of the world's leading sailors and boat designers from the UK and beyond.