Yachting: Murdoch in front in men's Lasers

Andrew Murdoch. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Andrew Murdoch leads the men's single-handed Laser class at the Weymouth and Portland international yachting regatta in England.

After lying second at yesterday's start, he profits from solid results including a second and a third and an uncharacteristic stumble in race four from overnight leader Australian Tom Slingsby, who placed 13th.

No one else could match Murdoch's consistency. He has 14 points and a six-point lead on Slingsby, with a further 12-point gap back to third place.

New Zealand's Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk made a strong start in the Star class with a fifth and a second against the world's top 20 nations.

The Kiwis are second overall on seven points with only this season's ISAF Sailing World Cup winners Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada of Brazil ahead of them.

New Zealand's two RS:X windsurfers are eighth on their respective leader boards. Jon-Paul Tobin had a fifth and an 11th in his two races. Natalia Kosinska was seventh and 11th.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke had a mixed bag of results after sailing three races in the 49er skiff. Their best was a third in race three, along with an 11th and a 16th leaving them eighth overall.

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie were second in race one of the women's 470 only to be black-flagged in the subsequent race and whacked with a 26-point penalty. They are lying17th.

In the men's 470, Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders had a fourth and a 13th to move to 12th overall.

Dan Slater is in 15th place after day one in the Finn class, and Sara Winther is 25th in the Laser Radial.