Tauranga sailors have proud 49er legacy to follow at worlds

Tauranga's Trent Rippey could emulate Peter Burling's success in the 49er boat. Photo / File

This year's 49er world championships will be a little different to those of the recent past, not least because Peter Burling and Blair Tuke will not win.

Tauranga sailor Burling and Northland teammate Tuke have dominated the 49er class, winning four straight world titles and gold at last year's Rio Olympics. In fact, they won every major regatta following the 2012 London Olympics and claimed victory in Rio by a whopping 43 points.

The pair will not be in Porto for the upcoming 49er and 49erFX world championships, having recently helped Emirates Team New Zealand claim the America's Cup. They are now in preparation mode for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race.

Their absence will feel strange for many, including 49erFX Olympic silver medallists Alex Maloney and Tauranga's Molly Meech, who have been to eight world championships with Burling and Tuke.

"We will miss them," Maloney said. "They have been really good role models for us and have always been there if ever we have any questions. It will be strange not having them there but they have left us with some good knowledge."

Maloney and Meech have a good pedigree of their own. On top of their Olympic silver medal, they won the 2013 world championships and have medalled in various World Cups and European championships, but they are trying to achieve greater consistency.

They have performed well so far this year, finishing second at Kiel Week and, but for a costly mistake, would have been in the medals at the World Cup regatta in Santander in their first major competition since Rio.

"We are feeling good in the boat and know we can perform well at the world championships," Maloney said. "We're excited to go over there and lay down a good performance."

A lot of that will hinge on their starts. The pair identified that as one of the main areas that needed work following a wide-ranging debrief after their Rio Olympics campaign.

"It's about being really assertive on the start line and trying to nail that aspect so we're not playing catch-up through the fleet," Maloney said.

It is something they have spent a lot of time working on with new coach Nathan Handley.

Handley previously helped Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie to gold at the London Olympics and silver last year in Rio and also worked with Burling and Tuke during the early part of their combination. He also oversaw Maloney and Meech's campaign in 2013 when they won their world title.

Maloney and Meech have been in Porto for nearly three weeks with the rest of the New Zealand team preparing for the world championships.

Josh Porebski and Tauranga's Trent Rippey have been in good form this year and will line up in the 49er fleet with fellow Kiwis Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie.

Porebski was second with Marcus Hansen in the 2013 49er world championships and has been sailing with Rippey for the past 18 months. They were eighth at the World Cup final regatta in Santander, 10th in Hyeres and 13th at Kiel Week.

Racing gets under way in Porto this evening (NZ time).