The Rhu sailor and Willis joined forces in the two-person 470 class and the new duo are now embarking on their first World Cup series competition at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Majorca, which started on Monday, March 31 and runs until this Saturday, April 5.

And although they have completed just 10 days of training together in the build-up, Patience feels the new team, with Willis a double World Champion in the class, is full of potential.

The 27-year-old said: “It’s going really well. We’ve jumped into it reasonably seamlessly — there aren’t any results behind that yet, but in terms of how it feels together, it’s clicked nicely and we’re in a good place together and we’re really enjoying it.” After Patience’s previous crew, double Olympic silver medallist Joe Glanfield, called time on Olympic campaigning in February, Patience was left searching for a new teammate with whom to further his golden ambitions and although he admits the change of partner is not ideal preparation for the Rio Olympics he explained he and Willis had previosly considered teaming up.

Patience added: “It’s not what you’d plan, to be starting a new partnership — whoever that’s with and however that happened — two and a half years before the Games.

“But I’m a great believer in things happening for a reason, and for the right reasons, and me and Elliot have teamed up at the right time for the right reasons.

“We’d spoken about sailing with each other before, and different series’ of events meant that we weren’t in a boat together before now, but it is what it is and I feel like me and Elliot have so much respect for each other — even more so now we’ve been in a boat together.

“We understand each other better for having competed against each other.

“I think it was the same for me and Stuart (Bithell) — we understood each other better because we’d raced against each other.” Patience insists he’s not eyeing a medal from their first event together this week, given the complexities of the sport, the 470 class and the relationship-building aspect of any new partnership.

But he equally sees no reason why the duo shouldn’t be pushing the best from the rest of the world, including the Australian Olympic Champion Mat Belcher, whose two-year winning streak in the class came to an end at the Miami World Cup last month.

Discussing his Rio rivals, Patience explained: “I think that while it wasn’t us that beat them in Miami, seeing them get beaten for a lot of guys probably made a big difference.

“I think that people are a bit more intense now, and maybe the fleet sort of snapped and thought enough was enough.

“I’ve never felt intimated by the Aussies, I’ve never been annoyed by them. They’ve simply put together a better programme and you can’t dispute that, but it’s only made me hungrier.

“It’s never dampened my spirit — my spirit is a hard thing to dampen and that doesn’t happen much.

“Me and Elliot are in the same place, we get along really well, we have a great level of trust for each other in the boat, and we have a laugh. I always have a laugh, “I struggle to not have a smile on my face – that doesn’t mean I don’t want to win, but I appreciate what we have together and what we’re able to do together.

“At the end of the day, we’re asking so much of ourselves, we’re asking great things, and I hope me and Elliot go on to produce those great things, I’m sure we will.” The final races at the Princess Sofia Trophy are scheduled for this Saturday, April 5.