Sailing: Promising start for Murdoch, Junior at champs

New Zealand has made a great start at the Finn European Championship with Kiwi sailors Andrew Murdoch in third and Josh Junior in sixth in Warnemunde, Germany.

While light winds cancelled racing Tuesday for the 103-strong fleet, the regatta got under way yesterday with conditions allowing for one morning race in a dying easterly and then two afternoon races as the sea breeze arrived.

Northlander Murdoch opened with a 13th while Junior placed 28th, yet things improved for both the Kiwis in the afternoon.

Murdoch added a fourth and a sixth in races two and three to give him 23 points and a hold of third overall.

"We have three races scheduled for tomorrow, one extra again, to catch up on the lost races of day one. Looking forward to it," Murdoch said.

Junior returned a fifth and then a win in race three and with 34 points was in sixth overall at the end of the first day.

Visilij Zbogar from Slovenia was in first with 11 points while Croatian Ivan Kljakovic-Gaspic was in second place seven points ahead of Murdoch.

Meanwhile, Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders also opened strongly at the Nacra 17 World Championship at The Hague, Netherlands, which got under way yesterday although trying conditions meant that just one of two (split) fleets completed their races.

The Nacra 17 is the new Olympic multihull class and is sailed by one female and one male.

Kiwi contenders Jones and Saunders have made an encouraging start with a seventh and a third on the water to hold second place.

"It was tricky sailing, the conditions were difficult," Saunders said. "It was not easy to start with that current and we couldn't always keep the lay line. We are not used to this. I sailed this water also in 2010 when I attended the 470 worlds, so I know it a little. The second race was even more difficult, because the wind started to die out at the end.

"But we were happy to sail two races and not to have been waiting all day again. It's been two long days waiting at the beach. For the next two days we hope to sail as many races as possible."

Despite spending hours on the water those in the yellow fleet including Kiwi crews Nicole van der Velden and Tomer Simhony and Gareth Moore and Vickery Francis were yet to record any race results.

Racing resumes at both regattas today with medals to be decided on Sunday. APNZ