Yachting: Kiwis move in right direction

Andrew Murdoch is second in the Lasers. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Blustery conditions in Weymouth on day four of racing meant plenty of movement on the leaderboards for the Kiwis competing at the Olympic test regatta.

For most it was in the right direction and most of the team are now sitting inside the top 10 of their events.

Laser sailor Andrew Murdoch remains the best-placed of the Kiwis, lying in the second place in his class, while Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are in third in the 49er.

Murdoch lost his lead to Tom Slingsby in what has been a transtasman battle for the top spot over the first three days in the Laser fleet. Rutger van Schaardenburg of the Netherlands is third, seven points behind Murdoch, as the Laser and Radial fleets go into a rest day.

Sitting in eighth place, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke clearly relished the increase in wind strength and clocked up a race win and two thirds to leapfrog into the top three. The Kiwis will be bolstered by yesterday's performance.

Dan Slater in the Finn also made serious gains on his rivals, climbing from 15th up to sixth overall with a fifth and a second in yesterday's racing.

Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk have slipped from second to sixth in the Star class after placing 15th and seventh in the two races sailed yesterday. The Finn and Star fleets have now completed two days of the series, returning to the water overnight.

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie have also made a major jump up the standings from 17th overall to ninth place in the women's 470. Two third-place finishes and the discard coming into play have resulted in the Kiwi pair's ascent into the top 10.

Like the men's 470, they now have a rest day followed by two more days of qualifying.

Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders placed 15th in their opening race yesterday, but suffered an OCS ruling in the subsequent race, and they now lie 15th overall in the men's 470. Sara Winther retains 25th place in the Laser Radial.

Windsurfers Jon-Paul Tobin and Natalia Kosinska were back on the water overnight after a rest day.

NEW ZEALAND'S STANDINGS

Weymouth and Portland 2011 International Regatta

* 2nd - Andrew Murdoch: Laser (4, 5, 2, 3, 11, 4)
* 3rd - Peter Burling and Blair Tuke: 49er (11, 16, 3, 3, 1, 3)
* 6th - Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk: Star (5, 2, 15, 7)
* 6th - Dan Slater: Finn (13, 18, 5, 2)
* 8th - Jon-Paul Tobin: RS:X Men (6, 6, 9, 16, 5, 11)
* 8th - Natalia Kosinska: RS:X Women (12, 10, 4, 7, 7, 11)
* 9th - Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie: 470 Women (21, 11, 2, 26 black flag disqualification, 3, 3)
* 15th - Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders: 470 Men (17, 16, 4, 13, 15, 33 start penalty)
* 25th - Sara Winther: Radial (11, 26, 26, 21, 15, 25)