Rockal Evans enjoyed his first taste of success in 2023 after forming part of the winning boat at the Port Hacking Race in Sydney, Australia, at the weekend.

The Bermudian sailor fulfilled the role of grinder, a physically demanding job which involves operating manual winches that raise and trim the sails and move the boom, aboard David Doherty’s TP52, Matador, which led the 14-boat regatta across the line.

Evans was delighted with the victory and made the most of the breeze on offer ranging from five to 19 knots after setting sail from Sydney Harbour under sunny skies.

“It was a great event with good sailing conditions,” Evans told The Royal Gazette.

“We had a great start leading the fleet out of Sydney Heads. The course was about 75 kilometres and took us nearly five hours to complete.”

Peter White’s TP52, First Light, was second and Julian Farren-Price’s Neo Roma 430, About Time, third.

Doherty’s boat snatched both International Rating Certificate (IRC) and Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) honours from About Time and Peter Franki/Drew Jones’ Salt Shaker.

Performance Handicap System (PHS) honours went to Steve Watson’s J/130, Ragtime, with About Time and Never a Dull Momen finishing second and third respectively.

About Time secured PHS Division 1 honours, Jupiter the PHS Two-Handed Division, IRC Two-Handed Division and ORC Two-Handed Division titles and Salt Shaker IRC Division 2 and ORC Division 2.

Saturday’s race formed part of the 2022/23 Ocean Pointscore series, which Andy Offord’s Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300, Borderline, leads with one race remaining followed by About Time and Matador.

Evans enjoyed considerable success competing on Doherty’s boat last year after securing podium finishes at the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, TP52 Gold Cup Series.

He also earned a spot on the podium competing in the Super 50 class aboard Matthew Donald’s 52-foot yacht, Gweilo, in the inaugural TP52 Series.