Rockal Evans battled through personal pain and poor weather conditions to secure a podium finish at the Sail Sydney Regatta in Australia.

The Bermudian finished third in the ten-boat former Olympic class Finn dinghy fleet to finish on the podium at the regatta for the second straight year after winning silver in 2021 but was not in peak physical condition as he recovers from a back injury.

“I was not feeling strong like my normal self in the windy conditions because I have been recovering from a lower back injury and haven’t been sailing the Finn for 12 weeks, so I had no training in the lead up to this regatta,” Evans said.

The former Bermuda national Comet champion posted two seconds and a fourth in the three races he contested in challnenging conditions which featured strong breezes of 25 to 30 knots.

“It was very windy and we did three long races,” Evans told The Royal Gazette.

Australian Rob McMillan edged compatriot Anthony Nossiter by a solitary point to clinch the title with Evans rounding off the podium a further two points adrift with the trio tied heading into the third and final race.

“Going into the last race the top 3 boats were all tied on 4 points so the last race was winner takes all,” Evans said.

The Finn dinghy is a single-handed, cat-rigged sailboat that was used in the Summer Olympics from 1952 to 2020. It is the longest serving dinghy in the Olympic Regatta and a physically demanding boat to race at the highest levels.

Sir Ben Ainslie, chief executive and driver of the Great Britain SailGP Team, won three of his four Olympic gold medals competing in the Finn and the Sail Sydney Regatta was hosted by the Woollahra Sailing Club and featured 22 classes that competed for honours in Sydney Harbour.