Peter Burling and Blair Tuke claim their fifth 49er sailing world championship, Anthony Joshua defeats Andy Ruiz Jnr in Saudi Arabia and we check out kiwi company Manta 5 who show us how to cycle on water. VIDEO / NZSailing
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke find themselves where they want to be for the final day of the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 world championships off Auckland today.
The four-time world champions jumped to the top of the leaderboard on the penultimate day after some high-pressure sailing, turning a nine-point deficit into a 12-point lead over Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel.
The Germans weren't the only team to falter on what is commonly known as moving day and there's another 24 points back to Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stuart Bithell in third.
Burling and Tuke pulled off some good comebacks to finish 10th and fifth in the first two races and then put an exclamation mark on their day by winning the last race, overtaking a handful of boats on the final run as they locked into good pressure.
It was their fourth race win of the week but a mark of their regatta has been their consistency, with their worst result (and discard) an 11th sustained when they capsized jostling for the lead on the opening day.
Everybody else in the gold fleet has a discard of at least 20, meaning there could still be plenty of movement with two more gold fleet races to be sailed before this afternoon's top 10, double points medal race.
"We were in some tough spots today, especially in that first race," Tuke said. "Some of the boats around us were quite deep and we managed to get a 10th which was respectable. Every inch matters. We will have a look at the points and have a better understanding of what we need to do."
Peter Burling (left) and Blair Tuke get into their work off Auckland yesterday. Photo / Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
They're not the only New Zealand crew gunning for a medal in the 49er after Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn posted three good scores yesterday — second, eighth and seventh — to be six points off third.
The third Kiwi combination of Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie also continued their climb up the standings and and have an outside chance of a medal from their position in ninth.
"It was a lot better than yesterday," Dunning Beck said. "We managed to close it all up and give ourselves a shot at a medal.
"Yesterday we struggled at times. We went home and had a bit of a reassessment. It was pretty simple stuff, really, but we managed to change one or two things today and it really worked out and we felt pretty comfortable out there, just ripping along and getting good starts. When you do the basics well, the shifts go your way."
Alex Maloney and Molly Meech's frustrating week continued as they finished 11th, 13th and fifth yesterday to lie seventh overall and the Olympic silver medallists will need everything to fall their way if they are to collect a medal.
An intriguing battle looms at the front, with Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz, of the Netherlands, level with Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, and Norway's Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen only six points behind.
It's similarly close in the Nacra 17, with seven points between the leading three crews. Liv Mackay and Jason Saunders are the best of the trio of Kiwi teams in gold fleet in 15th.
Most New Zealand interest will be in the 49er today and for Burling and Tuke it is familiar territory.
"It's definitely nice to have been here before and seen how it all unfolds," Burling said.
"It's going to be a very exciting day," Tuke added. "We're stoked to be racing here and to have a shot at a world title on your home waters is pretty cool."
