Campbell Patton made a promising start to the Sail Melbourne International Olympic class regatta in Australia yesterday.

The 17-year old crossed the finish line in ninth in the only race contested in the Laser Radial class.

Patton, who is making his second straight appearance at the event, held his own in trying conditions on the waters of Port Phillip, Victoria and reckons the best is yet to come.

“It was an okay start to the regatta with lots of room for improvement,” said Patton, who finished fourteenth in a fleet of 45 at the same event last year.

“The conditions were moderate and I would like more breeze. But I loved the big swell.

“I had to adapt my technique a lot for the big sea waves, which I have less experience with. But my handling and speed were overall pretty good.”

Patton sits in ninth in the overall 32-boat Laser Radial class.

Maud Jayet, of Switzerland, claimed the early lead in the Laser Radial fleet after winning yesterday’s only race.

Also flying Bermuda’s flag at the regatta is 2020 Olympic hopeful Rockal Evans who is competing in the Finn class and also making his second successive appearance at the event.

The 30-year old endured a much tougher outing than his younger compatriot, producing finishes of 18th and 21st, to end the day 19th among the 32-boat Finn class.

“It was not a good opening day, never got going anywhere on the racecourse,” said Evans, who placed ninth in a fleet of 18 at the same event a year ago.

“Conditions were really challenging for me, I couldn’t really read them. We had a storm near the racecourse and the conditions were kind of random.

“The boat handling was good but I was lacking straight line speed due to an old sail.”

Nicholas Heinder, of the Netherlands, fresh off his win at last week’s Sail Sydney Olympic Class regatta, is the leader in the Finn class after the opening two races.

The Sail Melbourne International, which runs until December 16, is Australia’s premier Olympic and Invited Classes Regatta and is being hosted by the Royal Brighton Yacht Club.