Pattisson was born in Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland, where his father was posted as an airman during World War II.

[5] In 1968 Pattisson and MacDonald-Smith won the gold medal in the Flying Dutchman class in the Olympic Games on their boat Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which was shortened by race officials to Superdocious.

After his Olympic victory in 1968, Pattisson resigned his commission in the Royal Navy so as to give himself more time for training.

[2] As Lieutenant Rodney Stuart Pattisson, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1969 New Year Honours for his services to yachting.

[5] Pattisson then retired from the Olympics and later co-skippered the Victory 83, the Peter de Savary entry in the America's Cup in 1983.