Sebastian Kempe signed off from the ILCA Under-21 European Championships in Spain on a promising note despite testing conditions on the water

After a two-hour delay on Saturday as a result of lack of wind, which forced two races to be cancelled, the action finally commenced in light and variable 8 to 13 knot breezes.

Kempe crossed the finish line in 22nd to jump four places from eighteenth to fourteenth overall in the 69-boat Gold Medal fleet at the regatta, which featured 202 sailors from 36 nations.

“We had a bit more wind, however the shift range was massive, making the fleet spread out very far,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“Pretty much the cherry on top for the challenging venue.”

The former ILCA 6 youth world champion made a brilliant start to the regatta after winning the first race in the qualifying series before falling off the lead pace.

Italian Enrico Tanferna pipped previous leader Ole Schweckendiek of Germany by one point to clinch the title with Isreal’s Rem Pulci Magen rounding off the podium finishers in third.

Kempe, 18, used the championships as a warm up for the Last Chance Regatta in Hyères, France, next month, which offers the final opportunity of Olympic qualification.

“I’m back in training for events coming up,” he added. “Just moving onwards and upwards from the last event.”

Adriana Penruddocke is the only Bermudian sailor to have so far qualified for Paris in the ILCA 6 women’s class.