Tauranga Olympian Peter Burling's bid to make the 2012 London Olympics takes a step up in intensity this week when he and new teammate Blair Tuke chase their first world championships together in a 49er.
The pair have been training on Lake Garda in Riva del Garda, northern Italy, for two weeks since their first international regatta at Kiel in Germany.
There they were 16th, missing the cut for the medal race (top 10), in their first experience of fleet racing in a 49er.
They made the gold fleet after the early races, along with their New Zealand training partners David McDiarmid and Andrew Archibald, and started the final day in fifth.
However they didn't sail well enough in the last three races to make the top 10.
Burling said the mid-summer conditions in Riva were perfect preparation for the worlds.
"It's quite warm - above 30C - with a champagne thermal breeze in the afternoon, gusting to around 20 knots," he said.
The world championships start tomorrow out of Fraglia Vela Riva, on Lake Garda.
The Australian sailing team's 49er crews are in the final stages of their preparation for the championships.
Reigning 49er world champions and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games competitors Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin have doubled the Australian sailing team's chances in Italy with the pair now sailing with new partners.
Outteridge and new crew Iain Jensen (the two previously competed successfully together as youths) will be looking to continue their recent impressive form after claiming victory at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland in May, their first ever regatta together.
Burling ready to take on world in 49er
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