Shaun Priestley, the coach of Sebastian Kempe and Adriana Penruddocke, feels the two are leaving the 54th Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with plenty of optimism.

Kempe and Penruddocke did well on the first two days to qualify for the gold fleet. However, the duo struggled to navigate tough conditions racing against some of the world’s best sailors, which saw them miss out on the medal races on Saturday.

With Palma forming part of a series of prestigious regattas that will help shape the Olympic sailing landscape for the next cycle, the coach believes the two are on the right track.

“Overall it was a great way to start the quad,” Priestley said. “Both sailors have gained experience in the gold fleet.

“There were lots of valuable lessons learnt that will support the 2028 Olympic campaigns.”

Kempe and are now preparing for the Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères, from April 19 to 26.

“Onto French Olympic week now in Hyères, then the World Championships in China where we’ll continue to learn and improve,” the coach said.

Kempe was pleased with how things went for him on Friday following tough sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.

“It all ended with a good race for me,” the 19-year-old said.

“Now I’m moving on and taking the lessons from this event. Onto Hyères for the next grand-slam, where we’ll keep looking onwards and upwards”