Evans on the rise in Sydney regatta
Rockal Evans produced his best showing so far on day two of the Sail Sydney Olympic Class regatta in Sydney, Australia, yesterday.
The Bermudian sailor finished eleventh in the opening race for the Finn class and really turned it on in the second race to cross the line in fifth.
That impressive display in light air conditions in Sydney Harbour left Evans in tenth spot among the 26-boat fleet after four races in the overall series.
“Tricky day today on the racecourse, but I kind of had it figured out after the first race,” Evans said.
“We are racing out of the club that I call home and train out of on a day-to-day basis. A little local knowledge went a long way today.”
British sailor Ed Wright leads the Finn class on a tiebreak over Nicholas Heiner, the world No 1, of the Netherlands.
Evans went into the regatta with momentum having placed third at the Sail Brisbane in Australia last weekend.
The 30-year-old moved to Sydney a year ago and will be based there for the next two years as he steps up his qualifying bid for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
He is vying for one of only three available Olympic spots from the North and South American region and competes in the same single-handed Finn class in which his late grandfather Howard Lee represented Bermuda at the Olympics in Montreal in 1976.
Evans is one of two sailors representing Bermuda at the regatta being hosted by the Woollahra Sailing Club.
Campbell Patton, son of multiple national Etchells champion Tim Patton, is competing in the Laser Radial class and is sixteenth among the 27-boat fleet with a best showing of thirteenth in the four races contested so far.
Australian Michael Compton leads the fleet.
The regatta concludes tomorrow.

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