Gianmarco Piovanetti solidified his lead on day two of the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup in the Great Sound yesterday.

The Puerto Rican sailor won three of the four races contested in blustery conditions to stretch his advantage from two to 20 points after discarding his worst score to date (sixth) in the opening race of the 13-race series.

Moving up to second was Mariana Pinto, of Portugal, who finished second among the female sailors and 28th overall at this year’s International Optimist World Championships in Spain in June.

Also on the move was Denmark’s Frederick Hastrup, who jumped six spots from ninth to third, a farther point adrift of the leader.

The lead among the local fleet swapped hands with Nina Gotfredsen replacing national champion Miguel Power at the summit.

Gotfredsen, who spent this summer training and competing in international regattas with Lake Ontario Optimist Team, surged six places, from fifteenth to ninth, while Power slipped as many places from fifth to eleventh.

Third among the local fleet and 16th overall is Shiloh Cruickshank, who ages out of the class in December.

Dede Cooper, the regatta chair, said the sailors coped very well in the trying conditions.

“The racing was amazing. It was windy, 22 knots, and had some waves, but the children all did a great job,” she told The Royal Gazette.

“It was a fabulous day and we had four solid, good races.”

It remains to be seen whether any racing will be held on Friday due to Tropical Storm Philippe which is now expected to make a direct hit on the island according to the Bermuda Weather Service.

“Our plan is to hold a skipper’s meeting at 1pm tentatively right now because the weather looks like it might break in the afternoon,” Cooper added.

“If we wake up and it’s all change then we will cancel that meeting, but when we looked today it looks like if we went out and started to race at 2:30pm we can get two to three races in before the wind picks up again.”