Lance Fraser and Digicel Business Match Racing earned a spot on the podium at last weekend’s Better Chip Match held in Oyster Bay, New York.

The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club skipper, who is ranked 53rd in the ISAF world match race open rankings, placed second at the grade 3 regatta competing in a formidable fleet featuring Taylor Canfield, the World Match Race Tour champion and Argo Group Gold Cup winner. Canfield called the shots as tactician on the winning Swedish Match 40 helmed by American skipper David Storrs, who is the third highest-ranked match race sailor in the United States and 29th in the world.

Rounding out the podium was another US skipper, David Niemann, who is ranked fifth in the United States.

Fraser and crew posted eight wins and four losses in the triple round-robin format with three of those losses coming against eventual winner Storrs who finished unbeaten.

His other loss came against Niemann after relinquishing a sizeable lead on the final run to the finish.

“We were leading by half a leg and then were passed on the final downwind after a wave set off about 12 waves that hit us,” Fraser said.

“At the end of day one, we were tied for second but lost the tie-breaker because of our loss to Niemann. We rebounded well on the final day to beat Niemann outright and place second in the regatta.”

Fraser added: “Given the crew on the boat that beat us, we are generally quite happy with how the regatta turned out. We lost the races against the winning team fair and square and they deserved the regatta, so hats off to them.”

Fraser’s impressive display earned him an invitation to this weekend’s Chicago Match Race Centre grade 2 event and qualification to this summer’s US Grand Slam Series in New York, Chicago and Detroit.

Sailing with Fraser at the weekend was overseas foursome Clifton Kartner, Matthew Ryder, Howie Meyers and Liam Harr.

“They did a great job all weekend getting me around the course,” Fraser added.

“It was a good result with an almost all-new team as it was the first time sailing with everyone except Clifton.”

The Swedish Match 40 is a new match racing yacht designed for the Swedish Match Tour.

n Mod Samba, a Quest 30 helmed by skipper Tristan Mouligne, was the first boat to finish the 20th biennial Bermuda One-Two Race, crossing the St George’s finish line in light breezes at 7am on Tuesday.

A total of 26 singlehanded boats started the 635 nautical-mile race last Friday in Newport, Rhode Island, two of which dropped out.

Shandygaff withdrew because of battery-charging issues while Eagles Dare pulled out after damaging its rudder.

The Bermuda One-Two Race consists of two legs, a singlehanded leg to Bermuda and a doublehanded return leg to Newport, and is run by the Newport Yacht Club.

This year’s ocean race features five classes with boats varying from a J-122 to an Alberg 37.

The doublehanded second leg from St George’s to Newport starts on June 18.