Defending their world title is next on the agenda for national 470-class champions Simon Cooke and Peter Nicholas.
The pair beat nine competitors to win the national title at Gulf Harbour this week.
"It was really good because in that group of nine there were two others who were rankedin the top 34 in the world," said Cooke.
Cooke, an Aucklander, and Nicholas, who lives in Scotland, have sailed together for four years. They won the national title in 2000 then went on to compete in the Sydney Olympics, where they finished seventh. Their best result in the class came last year, when they were crowned world champions, a title they defend in Spain in September.
In winning the last world championships Cooke and Nicholas secured New Zealand a spot in the Olympics. To win the place themselves, the pair must finish in the top five at this year's world championships and then hope no other New Zealanders finish in the top 10. If another pair do, there will be a second trial in New Zealand.
"The problem with that is in New Zealand you only race against nine or so people, whereas in the world championships you race against something like 110," Cooke said.
Before the world championships the pair hope to compete in the European championships in France in July.
"At the moment we are just working on the sails and equipment, and the boat will be sent to Europe in two to three weeks," said Cooke, who worked for Oracle BMW Racing during the America's Cup as part of their weather team. "It is not a one-design class. The hulls are similar but there is a window where you can change sail shapes and foils. There are a number of things you can do to develop more speed."
Speed is something Cooke is hopeful he and Nicholas have plenty of.
"The 470 class is very competitive. On any given day anyone in the top 20 could win. But we are pretty hopeful."