Amelia Lewis exceeded her expectations competing at the International Laser Class Association 4 Youth World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal.

The Bermudian punched well above her weight as she placed an impressive 56th among the 154-strong girls 4.7 fleet at the regatta, which was cut short owing to lack of wind.

Lewis had a best showing of fifteenth in the eleven races contested on the way to qualifying for the gold fleet at the business end of the regatta.

However, she was unable to make further headway in the standings after the wind dropped out, resulting in the final day of the event being postponed.

“The World Youth Championships has been an amazing experience for me and I am extremely happy with what I have learnt over the week of racing and the pre-regatta training,” Lewis told The Royal Gazette. “I was lucky enough to train with the Great Britain team as I was the only Bermudian sailor. I am so thankful as I learnt so much from the coaches.”

Lewis made steady gains in the standings as the regatta progressed. She ended the opening day in 93rd and climbed twelve places to 81st on day two.

Lewis continued her steady ascent after moving eleven places in the standings to 70th on day three to secure her spot in the gold fleet.

However, Lewis maintained her upward thrust the following day when racing resumed as she surged fourteen places to 56th, where she remained after the final day of the event was scrapped owing again to lack of wind.

“Every day I improved my results, meaning my relative standing improved and I qualified for gold fleet,” she added.

“While the wind was quite variable and it was a shame that we didn’t race two of the six days, getting good results against the world’s best ILCA 4.7 sailors and finishing 56th out of a field of 154 girls was definitely a highlight and was well beyond what I had expected going in to the regatta.

“I am very grateful to the Bermuda Sailing Association for their help in making this experience possible."

Italian Ginevra Caracciolo won the regatta, with Ukraine’s Alina Shapovalova taking silver and Croatia’s Petra Marendic bronze.