Perry, a World Sailing vice-president, becomes the third to officially declare his candidacy for President.

The 72-year-old joins a list of contenders which so far includes Andersen, the incumbent who is running for a second four-year term, and Spaniard Gerardo Seeliger.

insidethegames understands China's Quanhai Li, another vice-president, is likely to be the fourth Presidential candidate, but he has not yet formally entered the race.

The election is due to take place virtually on November 1 after World Sailing decided to hold its Annual General Meeting and General Assembly remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials wishing to be on the ballot have until September 6 to submit their candidature.

Candidates must have five or more nominations to be put forward for election, and insidethegames understands several Member National Associations have told the experienced Perry to stand for President.

A former President of the Pan American Sailing Federation, Perry has been a vice-president of World Sailing since 2008.

He has held numerous roles within World Sailing, including serving on the Audit Committee and the Constitution Committee.

Perry was put in charge of Para sailing after the sport was cut from the Paralympic Games programme and was also drafted in to oversee preparations for the 2014 World Championships just three months before the event began in Santander in Spain.

Earlier this year, Perry warned the coronavirus pandemic had worsened World Sailing's precarious financial situation and said the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games "has made our financial challenges more acute".

World Sailing's Election Committee has this week issued a warning to candidates not to publicly criticise each other and to "promote themselves with dignity and moderation" as the list of contenders grows.

"It is expressly not permitted by the election rules to harm or do anything likely to harm the image of another candidate or cause any prejudice to them," the committee said in a statement.

The group also called for the election to be held within an "atmosphere of mutual respect and equality between the candidates" and called for "positive and constructive debates about the merits of candidates without entering into public negative criticism of them".

"It is in no one's interests, least of all World Sailing itself, to have public campaigns focused on negatives rather than the merits of the different options facing our voters," the committee added.

insidethegames understands concerns had been expressed by Seeliger and Perry over Andersen's hosting of tomorrow's "townhall" meeting - a virtual gathering between World Sailing and its members - during an election campaign.

But the Election Committee said the meetings, which have been held regularly by World Sailing in recent months amid restrictions on international travel due to the COVID-19 crisis, did not breach any rules.

Rules for the election, which prohibit candidates from using communications agencies and consultants to help with their campaign, were published by the committee last month.