International sailors held sway on a first day of the Bermuda Junior International Optimist Sailing Regatta, as Brazilian National Champion Marco Grael coped best with the rough conditions to take the lead at the head of the 39-strong field.

Over the two races, Grael finished second and first respectively to maintain a narrow advantage over Victoria Travascio of Argentina. Marcos Pimentel Duarte, also of Brazil, lies in third place, one in front of Greg Carey from the UK.

Bermuda Optimist coach Paul Doughty paid tribute to all the young sailors for responding so positively to the demanding conditions, but predicted that the heavier sailors will command an advantage going into the weekend when the wind is forecast to intensify.

"Some of the kids in the Bermuda fleet who are not very experienced in these conditions did exceptionally well in the circumstances," he said.

"It shows that the locals are capable of adapting and are certainly not afraid of the rough conditions. But the water was very choppy today and the winds got up to about 22 to 23 knots, which was a very tough task for the smaller kids. It certainly is not going to get any easier for them."

Doughty also said that he was not overly concerned with the placings of local sailors, but wanted to see them learn and develop, whilst testing their skills against what is a "world class international presence".

"We are not too worried about the placings of a lot of guys," he said.

"As long as they are using this golden opportunity to improve and maybe beat a couple of guys who they were not expected to beat, then that will give them a lot of confidence when they go away and compete in international regattas.

"It is such a good experience for the local kids who have had to get over the awe factor of racing next to the world champion and other very accomplished sailors from abroad."

Regatta leader Grael, son of Torban Grael the former Star class world champion and chief tactician for the Prada Italian boat during the last Americas Cup, was not getting carried away with his first day performance.

"It was very hard in the wind but I managed to stay focused and I'm very pleased I managed to come out on top," he said.

"There is a long way to go, though, and anything can happen with the weather."

Croatia's two time Optimist world champion Filip Matika lies in seventh place, but being heavily jet-lagged, having arrived late on Thursday night after being held up by immigration officials in America who claimed that he and his father did not possess the necessary documentation to pass through the country, the feeling is that he will be a very real threat as the regatta progresses.

Bermuda's leading sailor yesterday was Ryan Saraiva, who finished in eighth place.

Although he admitted that he had been impressed by his international opponents, he still felt he had a good chance of placing well overall.

"The international guys are very good but I can definitely compete," he said.

"If the wind stays up or gets stronger, I just might do well."

See Scoreboard for results.