Bermuda’s young sailors have been in superb form at the Optimist World Sailing Championships in Uruguay this week.

Proving once again that sailing is one sport in which the Island can truly excel at the highest level of international competition, Bermuda achieved six top-eight finishes in the waters off the capital Montevideo during the preliminary races to qualify for the team racing championships which start today.

Only the top 16 out of the 50 countries participating were able to qualify for the team event, which is determined by adding the scores of the top four sailors from the preliminary stages which began on Tuesday.

The first day of the championships saw two races held in light and shifty winds in temperatures that reached a scorching 35 degrees Celsius.

James Anfossi was Bermuda’s top performer on day one with 13th and 17th place finishes for a score of 30 points, and was followed by Jordan Saints with a 37th and ninth place, leaving him on 46 points overall.

Joshua Greenslade was the third-best Bermudian with 56 points while Jason Saints finished with 80 points and Haley Powell 113.

This represented a respectable performance from the Bermuda team, who sailed in winds of roughly six knots throughout the day and on a trapezoid course that was plagued with shifty winds and a strong sea current — providing the youngsters with a stiff test.

Conditions on day two, meanwhile, could not have been more different with easterly winds of 18 to 20 knots buffeting the course and creating heavy seas.

However, the rough conditions — similar to what the Bermuda sailors often experience in the Great Sound — proved very much to their liking.

The Saints boys were the top performers as Jordan nailed a second, sixth and 13th for the day’s three races while Jason achieved a third, eighth and 23rd place.

And needing to produce just one top ten finish each to propel the team into the main team event, Anfossi and Greenslade delivered under pressure to take the team home.

Due to the total number of sailors participating in this year’s team event, the group has been divided into six fleets — each containing about 38 sailors.

The two fleets will race each other on a rotation basis with up to 77 sailors competing in any one race.

Reflecting on their performance so far, team leader Eddie Saints praised his young charges for their focus and determination.

“We are extremely proud of the performance and achievement of our sailors,” he said.

“They were clearly focused on their sailing and were careful to put into place the instructions from the coach Pablo Weber on how best to maximise the sailing conditions.

“We’re now very much looking forward to the team event and hope we can continue to do Bermuda proud.”