Sebastian Kempe remains firmly on course for a podium finish at the Oceania and Australian Laser Open and Youth Championships in Adelaide.

The Bermudian sailor made headway during yesterday’s final two races of the six-race qualifying series to jump from fourth to second in the under-21 division and 46th to 37th overall in the ILCA 7 class.

More importantly, Kempe has qualified for the gold fleet for the final series, where he will make a final push for a spot on the podium during the business end of the regatta.

“I have not had the best qualifying series,” Kempe told The Royal Gazette.

“However, today I pulled in my first top five in the Olympic fleet of my life, which is very pleasing. This will put me solidly into the gold fleet.”

The 18-year-old produced his best display to date at the regatta, being hosted by the Adelaide Sailing Club, with impressive finishes of fourth and fourteenth competing among some of the world’s elite sailors.

Kempe is using the event as an ideal warm-up for the upcoming World Laser Championships, also taking place in Adelaide, where he will attempt to secure an Olympic spot for Bermuda.

“Lots of terrific lessons being learnt about the venue in preparation for the World Championships where seven Olympic spots will be up for grabs,” he added.

Leader Theodor Middelthon, of Norway, holds a nine-point advantage over nearest rival Kempe at the top of the under-21 standings, with Australian Lachie Weber 13 points off the lead pace in third.

Also representing Bermuda in the single-handed ILCA 7 dinghy in Adelaide is Campbell Patton, who found the going extremely tough.

The 22-year-old’s hopes of qualifying for the gold fleet were dashed after finishes of 38th and 31st in the two races pushed him down the standings from 51st to 59th in the Open division and 56th to 65th overall.

Like his compatriot Kempe, Patton is using the regatta as a warm-up for the upcoming World Laser Championships, where he is also bidding to secure a spot for Bermuda in the class at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Italy’s Lorenzo Chiavarini maintains the lead in the Open and overall fleet by a solitary point over England’s Michael Beckett. New Zealand’s Tom Saunders sits in third, a point behind.