The New Zealand sailing team are knocking on the doors of the podium as they head toward the final day of fleet racing today at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth.
On Friday, only the women's 470 and men's 49er classes sailed off the shores of Fremantle, striving to stay in the top ten as Sunday's medal races rapidly approach.
The 470 women's boat of Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie did well after being greeted by the standard local afternoon onshore breeze, known as the Fremantle Doctor, racing under clear skies with a wind range from 12-18 knots.
Aleh and Powrie started the day with a big comeback from a deep first bottom mark rounding, managing to work their way through the fleet on the third and fourth legs to finish the race in third. The second race saw a port-starboard altercation shortly after the start and, after doing their 720 degree penalty turn, they never recovered and finished the race in seventeenth.
It was enough for the women to climb two rungs up the ladder to now sit in fourth overall, only five points behind the third-placed team.
The men's 49ers were on the water early Friday, getting the first two races away in shifty conditions and again playing snakes and ladders with the leaders. After the day's last race was delayed until the Fremantle Doctor arrived, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke were able to perform much better in the stable conditions, finishing fifth.
They held on to their fourth spot, just 10 points behind the lead boat and with a nice 10-point buffer on the fifth-place boat.
The Men's RS:X and Laser enjoyed a rest day yesterday, before all four fleets have their final set of races today. Following that, the top 10 in each fleet will progress to Sunday's medal races on the Centre Course of Bathers Bay. At this stage, it is looking likely New Zealand could be represented in all four medal races.