Sailing: Challenge on for NZ to hold lead

At the end of day two, New Zealand lead the 2013 SAP 49er European Championships, with a further two Kiwi crews placed in the top five across the men's and women's racing.

Better breeze and more races meant for big changes in the men's standings at the Olympic class regatta in Arhus, Denmark, with another four days of competition remaining.

All three men's fleets sailed four races in solid conditions, with Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski looking dominant with two wins and two seconds on their course to turn the tables and take the overall lead with a six-point margin.

"Today was great. We had four races and nice breeze and waves so it was good racing and good fun," said Porebski. "It was a really competitive day. The Kiwi teams won every race in our fleet, so we were battling with them, and in a couple of races we were battling with lots of people, so it was really good racing and heaps of fun."

Tauranga sailor Peter Burling and Blair Tuke also found form on day two, scoring race wins in races three and six of the series, and adding single digit results in the other two to see them fly into fifth position after lying 35th at the day's outset.

This is the first major international regatta back in the boat for the New Zealand's Olympic silver medallists and they will be aiming to continue their excellent form.

With another four days to be sailed in a new and experimental format, the challenge is on for the Kiwis to stay at the top.

"[We need] to be consistent. It's a long regatta, so just keep getting good results on the board and keep doing what we're doing," said skipper Marcus Hansen.

On the women's skiff course, the 49erFX fleet got in three races, with Alex Maloney and Tauranga's Molly Meech coming away with 2, 10, 3 and now lying fifth overall on equal points to the Brazilian crew in fourth.

Meanwhile, Natalia Kosinska holds second place at the 2013 RS:X Women's European Championships, running consecutively in Brest, France. Kosinska holds second overall in the open women's fleet, where 42 board sailors are racing.