Rockal Evans is a man on a mission.

The sailor has been busy laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be a successful 2020 Olympic qualifying campaign in the single-handed Finn dinghy.

Evans is attempting to follow in the footsteps of his late grandfather, Howard Lee, who represented Bermuda at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal in the Finn Class.

“My grandfather qualified for the 1976 Olympics and now I have to make it happen for 2020 Japan,” said Evans, who is the national Comet Class champion.

Evans heads to Valencia tomorrow to attend a five-week Finn training camp, where he will get the opportunity to gauge himself against some of the best Finn sailors in the world.

“A bunch of the sailors have qualified for Rio already, so it will be good for me to go over there and get up to speed and see the benchmark where I need to be at for 2020,” Evans said.

“It will be good getting to know the guys and learning the tricks to tune the boat.”

Evans attended the same training camp last year, which is again being held at the venue for the 2007 America’s Cup.

“It’s the same camp, same group of guys and coaches, and I think the coach will see my improvement just from having a boat in Bermuda now,” Evans added. “The camp usually involves sailing and training in the gym everyday for five weeks.”

As well as spending precious time on the water getting to grips with the second-hand Finn dinghy he took delivery of in February, Evans has been building up his strength and endurance, which is essential to helm a boat regarded as the most physical and tactical single-hander in the world.

“The training has been going awesome,” Evans said. “I have been training five days a week after work and put in a lot of gym work and cycling to build up endurance and strength.”

Designed by Swedish canoe designer Rickard Sarby, the Finn dinghy has been used in every Olympic Games since 1952 and is the longest serving dinghy in the Olympics.

Many of the present America’s Cup sailors have made their mark in the Finn Class, including Sir Ben Ainslie, the Land Rover BAR principal and helmsman, who has won the gold medal in the class at the previous three Games.

“I have met so many Finn sailors who are involved in the America’s Cup in Bermuda,” Evans said. “They all know the coaches at the training camp in Valencia that I’m going to.”