Three new crews have been selected to spearhead Australia's bid for world and Olympic glory with the unveiling of the 2009 Australian sailing team.

Beijing gold medallist Malcolm Page is aiming to become the first Australian sailor to win two gold medals after pairing up with 470 skipper Matthew Belcher in December.

Fellow Beijing campaigner and silver medallist Darren Bundock is teaming up with 49er world champion Ben Austin in the skiff class after his preferred Tornado catamaran was dropped from the London 2012 Olympic program.

Austin's one-time 49er skipper and fellow world champion Nathan Outteridge will sail with development squad member Iain Jensen in the sailing team's other 49er crew.

Head coach Victor Kovalenko, whose 470 men's and women's crews both won gold at Beijing, said 2009 would be a time of transition as the team sought to meet several targets.

"Goal number one is to gain experience and goal number two is to be a leading squad in our sport at the various world championships," Kovalenko said.

Bundock said he was disappointed sailing's world governing body ISAF had dropped the Tornado from the Olympic program but he was excited at trying out in a new class.

However, Austin is on notice that his new partner will return to the multihull class if it is reinstated in time for London.

"Outside of the Tornado, the 49er is the only one that interested me and I took the opportunity when Ben and Nathan went their separate ways," Bundock told AAP.

"It's very similar to the Tornado, in fact it's a bit like the Tornado but without the training wheels.

"Ben said he had been thinking that he might retire after Beijing and get back to his career but we had a conversation and 10 minutes later he decided to stay on - I think I helped change his mind a bit.

"But ... if the Tornado is reinstated, I will go back to that if it happens and Ben's aware of that.

"That said, right now we've got some new challenges ahead. We're going to Europe to contest some regattas and then the worlds in July, which I'm looking forward to.

Australia's women's 470 Olympic champions Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson will also head to Europe later this year as they look to build on their success at Qingdao.

Other Beijing Olympians selected for the 2009 team include Bundock's former Tornado partner Glenn Ashby and Page's fellow 470 gold medallist Nathan Wilmot, who have opted to defer competition for a year before assessing their futures.

Simon Mossman
AAP