Sailing: Kiwis start strong at World Cup regatta

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie in action. Photo / Supplied

Kiwi sailing crews have kicked off the 2018 World Cup regatta in Japan with a bang, taking four top-10 berths on the first day.

New Zealand dominated the 49er fleet in proceedings cut short by poor conditions, winning the day's sole race through Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie.

The pair finished seven seconds clear of second place, while fellow Kiwis Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn finished sixth.

Josh Porebski and Trent Rippey came in 10th.

"It was a game of snakes and ladders - you could gain just as easily as you could lose, (so) you had to bank what you could," McHardie said.

Elsewhere, Kiwi Sam Meech sits in sixth in the Laser event, having secured a fourth place and 13th place in the day's two races.

Tom Saunders is in 26th place, while Andrew McKenzie is 28th.

"At times you were sitting in your boat praying for some breeze. Luckily for me, I had two okay races, so I'm happy with how I sailed," Meech said.

Rain is set to blight the remainder of this week's action in Gamagori.