Sebastian Kempe and Adriana Penruddocke suffered disappointing afternoons on the penultimate day of racing at the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Palma, Mallorca, yesterday.

The local sailors struggled in the light and shifty breezes competing among the gold fleets in the ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 classes.

Kempe crossed the line in 33rd and 41st in his two racesand slipped two places from 42nd to 44th among the overall 193-boat fleet.

“Today was light wind and very tricky,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“Gold fleet racing is unforgivable, but I am glad to be in the fight.

“I am learning a lot this week and extracting as many takeaways as I can for the Olympic qualifier in a few weeks.”

England’s Michael Beckett stepped up his title bid after stretching his lead in the ILCA 7 fleet from ten to fourteen points.

Penruddocke, who is set to represent Bermuda at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, finished 36th and 57th in the two races contested in the ILCA 6 gold fleet and dropped five places from 48th to 53rd.

“Today was an interesting one with a bit lighter breeze out there,” she said.

“Race one was good and race two was a bit of a different story, but all in all some really good stuff and looking forward to one more day to see what else I can learn.”

Australian Mara Stransky also managed to increase her advantage at the top of the ILCA 6 standings by three points after starting the day ahead of England’s Matilda Nicholls, who previously represented Bermuda in the Optimist dinghy class at international regattas, on a tie-break.

Nicholls slipped to fifth after producing finishes of 20th and 29th.

While Kempe and Penruddocke were able to showcase their skills out on the water, the same could not be said for compatriots Campbell Patton and Benn Smith, who had their races in the silver and bronze fleets postponed due to lack of breeze.

Competing in the silver fleet, Patton sits 69th overall while Smith is in the bronze fleet and is 143rd overall.