Rockal Evans and the crew aboard Matador had plenty of cause for celebration after successfully retaining the coveted Pallas Capital Gold Cup in Sydney, Australia, at the weekend.

Led by helmsman David Doherty, the defending champions dominated the TP52 class, sweeping TPR and IRC honours in the season-ending Act 4 regatta, which was hosted by Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

It proved to be another memorable moment for Bermuda sailor Evans who attributes the successful title defence to good team chemistry and fierce competitiveness.

“We had great team work all season,” Evans told The Royal Gazette. “The entire team work together nicely on and off the water.

“Also all of us want to win and even when we have had bad starts we all work really hard to fight back.

“This showed in Sunday’s races when we had two poor starts but fought back the entire race to a great finish.”

Doherty’s team was the most consistent among the 11-boat racing fleet, winning four of the six races contested in stunning conditions in Sydney’s Pittwater.

Craig Neil's Quest finished second and Sebastian Bohm's Smuggler third on the TPR rating rule. Gordon Ketelbey’s Zen claimed second and Quest third to round off the podium in the IRC rating rule.

Sunday’s triumph also completed a remarkable sweep for the defending champions having claimed TPR honours at each of the four events.

Grinder Evans was also a member of Doherty’s team that clinched the Pallas Capital Gold Cup last year.

Asked was the team’s latest success sweeter than the previous year’s, Evans said: “I think the first one was sweeter because we were the underdogs.

“This year was sweet because there were more boats on the line and a brand new boat with ten professional sailors on board that everyone thought would take the title.”

Making last weekend’s event even more special for Evans was competing alongside four-times America’s Cup winner, former Oracle Team USA general manager Grant Simmer on Matador.

“The highlight was sailing with Grant Simmer who was navigator on Australia II when it won the 1983 America’s Cup,” he said. “He was a strategist on Matador for the event.”

Evans has taken a huge step up in his career and competes in the TP52 class in Australia among some of the world’s elite sailorsafter previously sailing in the single-handed Comet and Finn dinghies.

“It’s definitely a steep learning curve but very important for building my knowledge and confidence in the professional sailing industry,” he added.

The dust has hardly settled on his team’s latest victory but Evans has already set his sights on achieving a potential hat-trick of Pallas Capital Gold Cup titles next year.

“‘We are most definitely going to try for a hat-trick next year,” Evans declared. “It would be rude not to.”