With modification and innovation actively encouraged in the hydroplaning class, Souter expects to see something new and exciting in each of his rivals' boats.

While that may put him at a disadvantage, he said it's one of the appeals of the category.

"It's an open development class, there are very few restrictions on what you can do," Souter said. "Everything's always changing and evolving, it never ends.

"You have a break, come back and something's changed, someone's faster and you have to try catch up, it's really interesting."

This weekend marks a return to competitive racing for the Port Kembla Sailing Club member, Souter taking a short break after December's World Championships in Perth.

Read more: Coenraad finds silver lining as tough campaign draws to a close

There he finished 12^th, the event taken out by Australian Olympic gold medalist Tom Slingsby.

Slingsby's 2013 America's Cup teammate Kyle Langford was second, while Rio gold medalist Tom Burton was third.

With numerous top 10 finishers from the competition set to feature this weekend, Souter knows the racing will be fierce.

"There are some pretty professional people in the field. Scott Babbage, Rob Greenhalgh and Matthew Chew are up there with the world's best.

"For me, I'm just coming back from worlds, so I'm hoping to relax, have some fun. There are no real stakes, so hopefully I can race well."

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