Tim Patton, the acting Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA) president, has dismissed an ongoing row within his organisation as a “storm in a tea cup”.

And he is optimistic that the matter will be resolved swiftly and that the BODA will continue to flourish.

The BODA has been rocked lately by an internal dispute over the Association’s new philosophy for youth sailing development which has resulted in the resignations of several executives, including president Charles Pendruddocke, secretary Mary Lynn Larson, fundraising chairperson Jennifer Ayres and executive member Steve Arrowsmith.

Ben Nicholls, the BODA executive member, has also come under fire lately with disgruntled Association members calling for his resignation.

It is understood that Association members have contemplated calling for a special general meeting to remove Nicholls should he refuse to resign. Patton, however, views the embattled executive member as a valuable asset to the BODA.

“Ben is a very dedicated, hard working contributor whose style is not always appreciated by everybody,” Patton said. “Nobody can question the time, effort and commitment he has made and technically his contribution has been excellent.

“He is an asset and I would hope that if he does resign from the board that the BODA can still benefit — particularly from the technical strength that he has. His contribution to youth sailing in Bermuda has been enormous, and it is my hope that we can continue to have that even if he is not a voting member on the board of governors.”

Nicholls believes that his track record speaks for itself and is adamant that he does not have “an axe to grind” with anyone at the BODA. “My passion is seeing more and better sailing for Bermuda’s children and getting people like Ben Ainslie [the multiple Olympic gold medallist] involved — and I believe I am very successful in achieving that,” he said. “But if there are parents that are unhappy I will do what the BODA board want me to do.”

Patton has endorsed the Association’s new philosophy for youth sailing development and remains optimistic that it will be embraced by the BODA’s membership.

“Like in all sports where parents get involved, they all want the very best for the kids but have different approaches,” Patton said. “This is what happens in every sport and certainly what happens in BODA.

“I think it is fair to say that everybody involved in this wants the very best, not just for their little Johnny, but for the BODA sailing. So the upshot of it all is that it’s just a storm in a tea cup.

“We are talking about some adults that do not seem to be getting along where the sailing side of it is very healthy. The actual sailing, the kids and everything that is happening is just fine. There is just a difference of philosophy within the sport.”

In response to the resignations of several BODA executives, Patton said: “I think it is not the right thing to do to resign if you do not like something. I think if people were unhappy with anything within the board that they should have fixed it from within.

“I think it is a lot easier to fix something from within. So whilst I respect everybody’s right to resign or not, I think this probably could have been resolved a lot more easily from within the board.”

Patton believes that the BODA’s new approach to youth sailing development is a step in the right direction.

“Optimist sailing in Bermuda has never been stronger; there are more kids participating and more sailing being done,” he said. “Just this Easter we had thirteen kids overseas sailing at very high level competitions [IODA South American Championships and Lake Garda Meeting]. Bermuda has never had that sort of strength before, so Optimist sailing in Bermuda is very healthy.”

n The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club will host the O’pen Bic North American Championships in Hamilton Harbour and the Great Sound this weekend.

The fleet racing event will feature young sailors — ranging in ages from nine to sixteen — from USA, Europe, Hawaii and Bermuda.