Young Kiwi sailor Jessica Smyth is looking to maintain her strong momentum on day two of the ISAF Women's World Match Racing Championships on the Waitemata today.
Smyth, who is New Zealand's only female match racing skipper to campaign internationally, is in a share of fourth place afterwinning four of her six matches on the opening day of the regatta.
The 23-year-old would have topped the leaderboard had it not been for a loss in the final flight of the day to favourite and defending champion Claire Leroy of France. Leroy, who has won the world title three times and held down the world number one ranking since May 2005, overcame Smyth by 42 seconds to join the local hope in fourth place.
But Smyth faces a tough challenge if she is to maintain her handy position, with her first match-up of the day against overnight leader Silja Lehtinen of Finland.
The world number eight ranked Lehtinen, who at 22 years of age is the youngest at the regatta, dominated the opening day with five wins from six races. Australian Nicky Souter and Liz Baylis of the US are in a share of second having each lost one of their five races.
While Smyth had an impressive opening day of the regatta, fellow Kiwi Jan Dawson struggled against the world-class competition and lost all six of her matches.
Dawson, who is the president of Yachting NZ, is the reigning New Zealand women's keelboat champion but has limited match-racing experience.
