KEY POINTS:
Even with more than two decades of international experience behind her Barbara Kendall is still not immune to the odd bout of nerves.
Kendall, who will be heading to her fifth Olympic Games this year, extended her lead at the RS:X world championships off Takapuna despite a "horrible" opening race on day four of the regatta.
The veteran windsurfer finished 15th in the first race, having struggled in the light, shifty conditions. But Kendall said her biggest barrier early on was mental.
"I had a severe case of the nerves to be perfectly honest because it's quite hard being in first position because you have everything to lose."
But Kendall's wealth of experience has taught her how to overcome the nerves and she bounced back by winning the second race of the day in the women's gold fleet.
So how did Kendall turn it around?
"You just realise that it's only a race, it's just one race, it's not the end of the world and it doesn't really matter because you have a life outside windsurfing," she said.
"That does require a few years of experience, sort of turning your thought patterns around quickly otherwise you just sink into depression and then you'll have two really bad races so there is a bit of an art form to it."
With her 15th placing in the opening race able to be discarded as her worst result of the regatta, Kendall has opened up a six-point lead over her closest rival Alessandra Sensini of Italy.
Sensini also had a mixed day with a third and ninth placing respectively in her two races.
Meanwhile, Tom Ashley recorded a third and 13th in his two races but was also able to extend his overall lead in the championship after several of the big names in the men's fleet fell foul of the conditions.
With extremely shifty winds and pressure coming in from both sides of the course it was difficult for the sailors to judge which side to take.
Ashley said he was pleased to be able to emerge from a tricky day on the water with his lead intact.
"It was a pretty solid day actually, it was really easy to get into trouble out there and a lot of guys had really bad races," he said.
Spaniard Ivan Pastor Lafuente, who was in second place heading into the fourth day, slipped back to sixth following an 11th and 25th placing in his two races.
Israel's Shahar Zubari was able to take advantage though, leapfrogging a number of sailors into second place, eight points behind Ashley.
Ashley said it was good to be able to distance himself from the rest of the field.
"Eight points is still a pretty good gap at a world championship but still anything can happen - it only takes one bad race. But it still means the other guys have to do a pretty good job to catch me."
Ashley's Kiwi rival Jon-Paul Tobin rocketed up to seventh overall and looks on track to make tomorrow's medal round.
* STANDINGS
Men
1 Tom Ashley (New Zealand) 26
2 Shahar Zubari 34
3 Przemyslaw Miarczynski 37
4 Piotr Myszka 41
5 Joao Rodrigues 42
Women
1 Barbara Kendall (New Zealand) 14
2 Alessandra Sensini 20
3 Marina Alabau 26
4 Faustine Merret 28
5 Blanca Manchon 29
