Championships in Canada yesterday and rose to second place in the rankings after eight races.

Kirkland won yesterday's first race in Portsmouth harbour, Kingston, Ontario, but his hopes of winning the world title took a knock with his 17th-place finish in the second race.

A remarkable day on Wednesday, when Kirkland bagged two firsts and a second in the three races staged, made the 16-year-old a genuine contender for the title.

The 120-pound Kirkland capitalised on ideal conditions for him, southwest thermal winds of around 12 knots.

"I really have to take advantage of all the light air I can get my hands on,'' said Kirkland. "When it blows, I'm in trouble.'' But 19-year-old leader Eric Holden from Vancouver, who is yet to place outside the top eight, showed no signs of slipping yesterday, finishing third in both races.

Holden (2-1-2-5-2-8-3-3) has a net total of just 18 points, giving him a huge lead over Kirkland (4-42-19-1-1-2-1-17), who has 45 points.

Canadian Steven Boleantu is just two points further back and a point behind him is compatriot Michael Todd, who won yesterday's second race.

The championships, which comprise a maximum of 12 races, conclude today. If 10 races or more are completed, sailors will be able to discard their two worst finishes, which would leave Holden virtually unbeatable.

Kirkland's success has come despite his lack of experience in the class -- he has been sailing Bytes for just three weeks.

The Warwick youngster did not expect to win this year's championship but has set his sights on the title in the future.

"The Byte is the perfect boat for me,'' he said.

He was aiming to finish inside the top 15 for the remainder of the races and added: "I just want to stay competitive.'' Two other Bermudians are competing in Kingston, 14-year-olds Ben Wicks and Lawson Williams.

Wicks lay 39th after eight races, while Williams placed 47th and 55th to leave him on 322 points and in 52nd place of the 78 competitors.

Meanwhile, in the Optimist World Championships in Martinique, Jesse Kirkland was the top sailor of the four-strong Bermudian contingent after eight races.

Kirkland was in 159th place on 296 points, Jonathan Kempe in 197th on 385 points, James Doughty in 204th on 422 points and Husayn Brown in 208th with 443 points.

Sailing silhouettes: Alberto Piaggio of Peru (left) and Igor Marenci of Croatia competing in the Optimist World Championships in Martinique. Four Bermudian youngsters are competing in the event.