Sailing: Tauranga's Sam Meech into top three at World Cup

Tauranga's Sam Meech says he's in with a chance as sailors battle light winds in Gamagori, Japan. PHOTO/FILE

A typhoon might be descending on Japan early next week but the sailors at the World Cup regatta in Gamagori are having to contend with painfully light winds.

A handful of Kiwis across the classes are coping well, with all three 49er crews inside the top seven and Tauranga's Olympic bronze medallist Sam Meech in a share of third in the Laser fleet.

Meech and the 49er pair of Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn picked up race winds to put themselves in a handy position after two days of the regatta. The wind topped out at about five knots meaning big gains and losses could be made.

Meech is within striking distance in the Laser, sitting on the same points as Olympic champion Tom Burton (Australia) in third after a 15th and first in the two races. World champion Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus has opened up a small gap after two top-three results on day two.

"It was another really light-wind day and we were lucky to get both races in," Meech said.

"It was going pretty well for me in the first race but I dropped back on the second beat when the wind went far left. In the second race I had a good recovery after not that great a start and managed to come away with the bullet which was a really nice way to finish the day.

"There are a couple of guys who are doing really well but there's plenty of racing still to go. My starts aren't going great but, after that, I feel like I'm sailing all right so a couple of good races and I could be in with a chance. It's pretty tricky racing and a long way to go."

Tauranga sailors Andrew McKenzie (12th) and Tom Saunders (15th) improved in the highly-competitive Laser fleet, with both recording top-four results.

Dunning Beck has won a couple of World Cup regattas but Gamagori represents the first major regatta with Gunn after the pair teamed up earlier this year. They have been encouraged by their results so far, picking up a win in the third race of the day, but were also disqualified from the first race for being over the start line.

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie are another young crew and settled into fifth after day two, backing up their race win on the first day with three top-10 results and a 15th which is their discard as their worst result. Close behind are Josh Porebski and Trent Rippey (Tauranga) in seventh.

There was only one race in the men's 470, with Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox finishing ninth in the 24-boat fleet and they are now fifth after three races. It's tight at the top, with only two points separating the top three boats, including multiple world champions Mathew Belcher and William Ryan (Australia) in third.

Susannah Pyatt had a disappointing day in the Laser Radial and dropped to 33rd overall.