Sebastian Kempe is in the silver-medal position after the first day of ILCA 7 sailing at the Junior Pan American Games.

Kempe finished fifth in the opening race and second in race two, with his total of seven points placing him four behind American Charles Barclay.

The 20-year-old, who has high hopes of competing for gold, endured a frustrating day after leading in both races before being caught on the wrong side of some big shifts at different points on the course.

In mostly light conditions, albeit gusty and shifty, Kempe was forced to minimise some damage after battling back from tenth position to record a top-five finish.

Victory looked possible for much of the way in race two, but Kempe lost out to Barclay towards the end after a 35-degree wind shift.

After the second race, the plan to hold a third evaporated as the wind died below raceable conditions. Both fleets were sent back to shore to wait until the end of the day before they were told there would be no more racing.

An hour or so after returning from shore, Kempe expressed his disappointment with the way the day had played out.

“It was not the day I wanted, but everything is still within reach,” he said.

“I sailed well and was focused on not taking big risks on the first day of the regatta. I’m just hoping that we get four more races in over the next two days.”

Bermudian Nicole Stovell was also in action in the women’s ILCA 6 fleet and finished ninth and tenth in her two races before the lack of wind brought things to a halt.

Stovell sits in tenth position overall on 19 points, with Brazilian Ana Tonniges Roth leading on four points after finishing second in both races.

Kempe and Stovell are back in action in Encarnación today, with another two races scheduled.