The New Zealand Yngling team of Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum won a silver medal at the World Championships in Austria.
The USA team led by Sally Barkow took out the 10-race regatta over 10 points clear of the Kiwi trio while the bronze medal went to Russian
Vlada Ilienko and her crew.
Going into the final race, the New Zealanders trailed the Americans by nine points and held a narrow two-point lead over the Russians.
With little wind, the race committee held out until almost the 3pm deadline before starting the race. The New Zealanders finished 12th, one place ahead of the Russians in the 34- strong fleet.
"Wow, what a week," Ferris said.
"With the last race starting just 45 minutes before the final cut-off time it was the most stressful race of my life.
"So, we are second overall and very happy. Yes we would like to win next year," she said.
Ferris, Smeal and Holtum joined forces earlier this year and enlisted the help of two-time Olympic medallist Bruce Kendall.
The New Zealanders will return home for a three-week break before travelling to the States for regattas.
In the Swedish Match tour, Emirates Team New Zealand helmsman Ben Ainslie has a 2-0 lead over Dane Jes Gram-Hansen in the semifinals of the Portugal Cup.
In the first to three wins format, Ainslie and his Team New Zealand crew of Stu Bettany, Ray Davies, Rob Salthouse and Chris Ward showed great poise in the start box, positioning them just one win away from the final.
"My starting has come on a lot this season," Ainslie said.
"There are still some scenarios I'm trying to figure out, but if you can get off the line even, it's anybody's race because of the shifts."
In the other semifinal, Alinghi's Peter Holmberg and Australian Peter Gilmour are tied 1-1 with a protest pending.
In the ISAF youth world championships in Korea, Laser sailor Blair McLay finished just outside the medals after fog caused the final day of racing to be abandoned yesterday.
McLay was left stranded in fourth place after race officials deemed the low visibility in the waters off Busan too dangerous for competition.
His placing was the best effort from the New Zealand contingent with Olivia Powrie's 10th in the Laser Radial the next best.
The New Zealand Yngling team of Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum won a silver medal at the World Championships in Austria.
The USA team led by Sally Barkow took out the 10-race regatta over 10 points clear of the Kiwi trio while the bronze medal went to Russian
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