Patrick Cooper did his chances of earning a place on the podium no harm during the penultimate day of the Bermuda International Invitational Regatta.

The Bermuda skipper coped fairly well in yesterday’s light-air conditions in the Great Sound.

Cooper started the day on the back foot after his International One Design racing sloop crossed the line in eleventh position in the opening race, his worst score to date.

But he bounced back strongly with finishes of sixth and third to remain in the hunt for a top-three finish.

Provisional results showed Cooper in third, four points ahead of perennial contender Jan Petter Roed of Norway, with one throw out remaining after today’s tenth and final race of the series.

George Cubbon, the remaining skipper flying Bermuda’s banner, sits in twelfth place among the thirteen boat fleet.

Yesterday, the overall lead swapped hands with Peter Wickwire, the defending champion, replacing fellow overseas skipper Pierre Crosby at the top of the leaderboard.

Wickwire, of Nova Scotia, leads Crosby by three points with Cooper a further eight points adrift in third.

This year’s Bermuda International Invitational Regatta features 70 sailors from the United States, Canada, Britain, Norway, Sweden and Bermuda.