Patton finished seventh overall with his discard, scoring a 53rd, 19th, fourth, second, second and eighth that amounted to one of the best ever overall finishes by a young Bermudian in an international regatta.Nicholls also made a huge impression to finish 19th overall and was the fifth girl in the fleet which numbered more than 130.The regatta was the biggest ever in junior sailing attracting 1,100 optimist sailors from 26 nations.On a final day when the light breezes continued, rarely getting above 12 knots, 10-year-old Nicholls placed 16th in the rescheduled race three which had ended in controversy a day earlier when the majority of the fleet failed to complete the course because of the lack of wind.Patton, 11, finished 30th but was able to keep his result of a fourth place finish when he was one of the few who managed to cross the line a day earlier. That pushed his overall position into the Cadetti Fleet into the top 10.Both Bermudians would have qualified for the Gold fleet but organisers weren’t able to split the fleet into gold and silver divisions because of the race three chaos.The final races were again sailed in light breezes and both Bermudians enjoyed good starts, rounding the first mark in the top 25.Patton went on to finish eighth and Nicholls 17th.Royal Bermuda Yacht Club sailing director Tom Herbert-Evans said he was ovetwhelmed by the two Bermudians’ performances.“I am speechless, this is a fantastic result by these two young sailors. Bermuda Optimist sailing is on the rise and these youngsters are leading the charge.“To see them competing so well at the highest level for their age group against 26 other countries and over 260 (in two fleets) is remarkable.“At the RBYC Sailing Academy we believe in encouraging kids to properly start sailing aged six to see how quickly they can progress to the international stage is extremely fulfilling and shows that we have the chemistry right.”President of Bermuda Sailing Association, Tim Patton, who accompanied his son to the trip to Italy, said “This event was simply spectacular, the organisation to put together two fleets of over 1,100 Optimists is to be commended.“Bermuda sailors traveling to the event was one of the highlights for the host club in Riva del Garda and they were particularly welcoming to us. We will certainly be back soon and hopefully with a lot more Bermuda sailors in 2013“We are lucky in Bermuda to already have such a strong heritage in the sport. There is plenty of talent to be unleashed and the Bermuda clubs have the ability to coach Bermuda’s kids to international standards.“I am of course extremely proud of my boy, but there were two young Bermuda sailors in Italy who both deserve significant praise . . .”Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association Executive Ben Nicholls, who travelled with his daughter, added: “The experience gained by Campbell and Matilda at this huge International event will stay with them for a long time.“The competition on the water, the spectacular sailing venue and the friendships ashore all made for a hugely successful week. Aspiring Bermuda sailors should definitely build this event into their Easter holiday plans in future years if they can. We met several teams from any number of countries and many of them have expressed a genuine interest in coming to Bermuda to train and race Optimists.“They can see something special is developing once again in Bermuda Optimist sailing and it is great to see such interest.“The next 18 months promises to be extremely exciting with Bermuda hosting the North American Continental Optimist Championships in July 2013.”n Meanwhile, six Bermudian youngsters have been competing in the South American Optimist Championships in San Isidro, Argentina where Rory Caslin, Chase Cooper, Ceci Wollmann, Mikey Wollmann and Benn Smith raced in a fleet of 160 from 17 countries.As expected Rory Caslin’s size proved to be an advantage in the bigger breeze and he had his best two races of the regatta, finishing with a seventh and eighth for an overall place of 45.The stronger wind set smaller Wollmann back slightly, finishing 29th in both races and he finished 54th overall.Cooper injured his neck and sat out the last four races, dropping to 112th place. Smith finished with a 38th and a 32nd for a 122nd place in his first IODA event.As expected, USA dominated the leaderboard.Bermuda Junior Gold Cup sailor Odile Van Aanholt was the top girl and fourth overall.The next IODA event will be the World Championships in July which will be held in the Dominican Republic.