Adriana Penruddocke found the going tough for the second straight day at the 51 Princess Sofia Regatta in Mallorca, Spain, yesterday.

Competing in the Gold Fleet, the Bermudian managed finishes of 45th and 44th in the two races contested, which left her in 45th position among the overall 89-strong women’s Laser Radial class.

The 21-year-old is bidding to qualify for the next Olympic Games and achieved a significant milestone in her campaign after qualifying for the Gold Fleet on her debut at the ongoing Olympic regatta in Palma, Mallorca, mixing it up against some of the world’s elite sailors.

It is her first major international regatta since underlining her potential with an impressive fourth-place finish in the women’s Laser Radial at the inaugural Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, last December.

As well as competing in the single-handed Laser Radial dinghy, Penruddocke is also being put through her paces as a member of Bermuda’s provisional training squad for the inaugural Star Sailors League Gold Cup to be held in held in Switzerland between May and June.

Meanwhile, also flying Bermuda’s banner in Mallorca is Benn Smith, who is 134th among the 162-strong men’s standard Laser fleet, with a best finish to date of 19th, which was achieved in the final race contested yesterday in steady breeze in the Bay of Palma.

The 22-year-old also went into the regatta with momentum having achieved an impressive third-place finish at the International Laser Class Association Midwinter’s East regatta in St Petersburg, Florida, last month.

Britain’s Michael Beckett and Canada’s Sarah Douglas are the leaders in the men’s standard Laser class and Women’s Laser Radial class in Mallorca.

More than 1,000 sailors from 62 countries are competing at the 51 Princess Sofia Regatta, which is one of the largest Olympic regattas in the world.