Rockal Evans’ title hopes suffered a setback after losing precious ground in the standings during the penultimate day of the Ronstan 2023 International Finn Australian Championships in Queensland, Australia.

The Bermudian sailor led the 39-boat fleet heading into the day’s racing but dropped to fourth after posting his two worst finishes to date of tenth and eighth.

He now trails New Zealand’s Mark Perrow by a solitary point for the third and final spot on the podium after discarding his worst score with two races remaining in the eight-race series.

Australian Rob McMillan now leads the standings by a two-point margin over second place Cam Tweedle of Great Britain.

Evans is making his third appearance at the regatta. He impressed on his debut at the event in 2018 in Brisbane, where he finished best of the non-Australians when sixth among the 29 entries in the field with a highest finish of third in the ten-race series on Waterloo Bay.

The single-handed Finn was the longest serving dinghy in the Olympic Regatta before being retired in 2020. Evans’ late grandfather, Howard Lee, represented Bermuda in the class at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.