Dinghy Championships in Peru after stellar showings in races four through six.

Under steaming hot conditions, Kirkland had two third place finishes and a sixth to put himself in prime position for a run at a top three finish.

Meanwhile, fellow Bermudian James Doughty stands 105th out of 160 after a 34th, 22nd and a disqualification yesterday in the Paracas nature reserve.

"I'm kind of astounded at how he's doing,'' said Malcolm Kirkland of his son's showing to date. "Jesse's also doing well and has had some good starts, but he's made a few bad decisions after getting off the line and you can't do that with a high quality field like they have there.'' Today is a rest day, with racing due to resume tomorrow.