Kiwi sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have established a comfortable lead in the 49er fleet after two days of racing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyeres, France.
The two-time world champions opened up a 21-point lead at the top of the leaderboard after a near-perfect day on the water, recording two wins and a second place on day two of the five-day regatta. Their New Zealand team mates, Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, did not have such a smooth day on the water, slipping to 18th after finishing well down the fleet in all three of their races.
In the women's 49erFX Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech improved their overall position, climbing to seventh, although the pair were still disappointed with their level of consistency having recorded a 14th, fourth and ninth placing on day two.
"After a slow start we connected a few more pieces of the puzzle on day two. We are determined to make each race more complete in the coming few days," said Maloney.
The women's 470 pairing of Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie also made strong progress on day two. Lying in 11th place after the first day, the Kiwi pair climbed into third with two solid single-digit race results overnight - a sixth and a fifth. Aleh and Powrie are well in touch with the leaders, sharing the same number of points as the two teams ranked above them - Great Britain's Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, and Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha of the US. The Brazilian and Slovenian crews in fourth and fifth aren't far adrift and the scene is set for another exciting battle leading up to Sunday's medal race.
