Campbell Patton remains thick in the hunt for Olympic qualification despite the disappointment of being disqualified in the third qualifying race at the Last Chance Regatta in France on Monday.

The 23-year-old, competing in the ILCA 7 fleet, was hoping to retain his position at the head of the standings on day two but got off to the worst possible start after being disqualified alongside a host of other competitors, including compatriot Sebastian Kempe, for crossing the starting line early in the first race.

However, Patton bounced back superbly at the earliest opportunity when finishing seventh in the day’s other race to remain on course to secure one of the four spots available for the island in the final Olympic qualifying regatta.

Patton sits in third place on 14 points through four races of the ten-race qualifying series after discarding his worst finish of 62, which he was awarded after venturing onto the racecourse prematurely.

“It was a pretty long day for us today,” Patton told The Royal Gazette.

“They [race officials] were trying with a couple of different wind directions and it took us a long time to get started.

“We ended up doing eight or nine starts before we got a race away and so with all these starts they had the black flag up and on one of the last ones I got called over, which was definitely unfortunate.

“It was a big mistake on my part because I should have played a little bit more conservative, but I am happy that I was pushing the limits and a lot of my competitors also received black flags in that same race so I am still in the mix.

“Thankfully the drop allows me to drop that result and now it’s going to be about being consistent for the next three or four days and not having any more big scores like that.”

Patton made a brilliant start to his campaign after producing finishing sixth and first in the opening two races to grasp the lead among the 61-boat fleet after the first day.

Kempe was also burdened with a score of 62 for being on the course before the start of race three and finished eighteenth in race four to slip nine places in the standings from ninth to eighteenth.

With only one drop allowed, Kempe also has no margin for error if he is to help the island achieve its primary objective in France.

Also representing Bermuda at the event, which runs until Saturday, is Benn Smith who posted a 29-33 record to slide eleven places from 28th to 39th in the standings.

“It was a tough day and it was pretty windy,” Smith said.

“Our first start was supposed to be at 11am but there was no wind so we were waiting around.

“We did get a start and I was doing pretty well in the top ten and then that race got abandoned unfortunately. That would have been a really good race for me so that was pretty upsetting.

“We waited around for a little while and then the wind really came in, probably around 25 knots, and I couldn’t really put together a good set of races. A few mistakes and it was tough out there, but hopefully I can have a good day tomorrow and pick up some points and keep going.”

One of the local trio must finish among the top four at the event to secure Bermuda’s spot at the Olympic Sailing Regatta to be held in Paris, France, from July 28 to August 8 at Marseilles Marina.

Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy, of Malaysia, leads the ILCA 7 fleet by two points over second place Karl-Martin Rammo, of Estonia.