Chase Cooper opened the Optimist Dinghy Association’s new season with a dominant display in the Hardy Limited Autumn Series.The Gold Fleet sailor registered three first places finishes and wasn’t out of the top three all day, as he swept to victory on the waters of Granaway Deep on Sunday.Cooper finished well ahead of Rory Caslin and Antonio Bailey, who never really threatened the winner over the day’s five races.In the Silver Fleet, Matilda Nicholls’s victory was equally emphatic as her four first place finishes eased her to victory over Kieran Swan and Joe Arrowsmith.There are seven more race days scheduled for the Hardy Limited Series over the next three months as Bermuda’s sailors prepare for the RenRe Junior Gold Cup and some national team qualifiers.n Bermuda’s Blake Burgess travels to Annapolis, Maryland this weekend with seven of his Maine Maritime Academy teammates to compete in the Shields regatta where he will be skippering a Navy 44 ft. vessel against the other service academies within the United States.