The New Zealand sailing team is poised for multiple podium finishes at the World Cup in Weymouth after the penultimate day of racing.
NZ sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke pose for a picture on the red carpet at the 52nd Halberg Awards. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealanders lead in three events and the New Zealand team have a further three crews in the top three with just the medal races remaining.
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke lead the 49er class ahead of New Zealand team-mates Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, while Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie lead the 470 women and Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech are in first place in the 49erFX.
Josh Junior and Andrew Murdoch are second and third in the Finn class respectively.
After a packed schedule of racing on the penultimate day fortunes for some and the usual suspects have risen to the top.
Burling and Tuke now lead the 49er class with an 18 point margin over Hansen and Porebski who maintain 2nd.
Aleh and Powrie are once again looking down the barrel of a medal race sail off for gold with the British on Weymouth waters.
Maloney and Meechlead by five points in the 49erFX.
Burling and Tuke have hit the top of the 49er leader board for the first time at this regatta.
After opening with some average results on day one the indomitable pair has been in fight back mode, and they used today's four races to good effect.
Two wins and two second places on a day when many of their rivals struggled for consistency sees Burling and Tuke not only take the lead, but create an almost unassailable points gap.
Burling recently said that they like to share the podium with the training partners Hansen and Porebski, and that looks likely with New Zealand's younger 49er crew holding 2nd overall and ten points clear of 3rd.
Hansen and Porebski also claimed a race win on the water today, and have sailed well all series.
In the Women's 49erFX skiff Maloney and Meech returned four top six results today, including a race win, and maintain their lead in the class with just the final race remaining.
Frequent medallists in the class Martine Soffiatti Grael and Kahena Kunze of Brazil are laying 2nd overall just five points behind the New Zealanders.
Leading from day one Aleh and Powrie sailed three races today placed 3rd, 1st and 3rd and remain in that top spot.
Fortunes on day four didn't go the way of Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox representing New Zealand in the Men's 470, and while they will sail again tomorrow in the top ten medal race they go into the final day in 10th overall.
New Zealand is lying 2nd and 3rd in the Finn class with both New Zealanders in the heavy-weight dinghy event enjoying the blustery conditions in Weymouth this week.
Britain's Giles Scott was near perfect today and he leads on eight points Junior on 14 points with Murdoch nine adrift on 23 points and in 3rd place.
Junior will need to put three boats in between himself and Scott to overthrow him.
