Rockal Evans leads his merry band of Bermudian sailors into the next round of the Star Sailors League Gold Cup in Gran Canaria, Spain, this afternoon.

Evans skippered the Privateers, which is made up of some of the island’s brightest talents, into second in their tight group against Malaysia, Antigua & Barbuda and Ukraine this week and it was his crew’s fighting spirit that pulled them through

“It was definitely a fight to go through,” Evans said.

“On the first day, the top three teams were tied and we were two points behind, but it was double points for the last race. We were not so sure if we were 100 per cent through when we won as it was a tie-break situation.

“We thought we might have a shot at being one of the lucky losers as the two highest third-placed boats out of the groups had a chance of going through, but in the end we finished second and we were thrilled.”

Evans, one of the masterminds behind the team, was hugely influential in building the sailing squad and takes great pride in leading the island on to the water.

“I feel really honoured to be in charge and captain of these guys,” Evans said.

“They all believed in my dream when I called them two, three years ago and told them of this amazing opportunity to form a Bermuda team. They all believed in me and we have a great team spirit. Everybody is happy and everyone was eager to get into the next round and we’re entering with lots of momentum.

“We had a list of 30 sailors we originally asked, but people have work commitments, school commitments and it’s now all boiled down to a really solid group of people who work well together.”

Evans is keen not to put pressure on his crew, but he reveals that they harboured hopes of success.

“We feel like we’re punching above our weight,” Evans said.

“But going into it, in my mind and the other team members’ minds, we thought we had an outside chance of going through. In the qualifiers last year we were just a bit unlucky with a few mistakes and we are racing against some of the people we were up against in the qualifiers, so we knew we could beat them.

“When I originally picked the team for this event I was asking the guys to take off two weeks just in case of us qualifying. We were hopeful and had a feeling we might qualify.”

Having made it past the 1/32 finals, Bermuda take on Hungary, Finland and Tahiti in Fleet 2 of the 1/16 finals, and Evans feels his squad may not have reached the ceiling.

“In the qualifiers we were in the same group as Tahiti. so we know we can beat them, but in the last round Tahiti won every single race in their fleet, so they are on a huge high and carrying lots of momentum,” Evans said.

“Hungary and Finland did not sail in the qualifiers last year, so we do not know how they will perform. We just have to sail our own race and try to be the best. Everyone sails in the same race and it’s just 45 minutes. All four of us are racing against each other in one race a day for four days.

“So far here, it’s been pretty light winds. We really haven’t seen more than ten knots and the forecast for the next four days is also pretty light, which suits us more than heavy winds because we’ve done most of our racing and training in those conditions.”

The Bermuda crew are happy with Evans’s leadership and he is aiming to be a mentor towards the younger sailors.

“I’m encouraging and determined,” Evans said.

“I never give up and I know myself and the guys will be fighting until the last minute, right to the finish line, and the guys are definitely buying into it.”