After an unexpected day of light breezes, the New Zealand teams are holding their own at the 2016 49er and 49erFX European Championships.

Tauranga sailor Peter Burling and Blair Tuke continue to lead in the 49er, while Alex Maloney and Tauranga sailor Molly Meech are locked in a three way points tie for 3rd place in the 49erFX.

Alex Maloney and Molly Meech are tying for third place after day two. Photo: 49er Sailing.

Unstable winds saw most of the front runners in the 49er drop the ball in at least one of their four races, but the kiwis shone through. Their worst score was a 6th in the final race of the day.

Before that, the four times world champions had a couple of race wins and a 3^rd placing, and they remain at the top of the leader board with a ten point gap back to 2nd place.

'As always, with qualification for us it's all about getting through in good shape so we are there or thereabouts for the finals racing,” says Blair.

'Today was a bit different than yesterday, it was a bit lighter wind and more unstable. Lucky for us we were mostly on the right side of the shifts and had the boat going pretty well. We're looking forward to the rest of the week.”

Nico Delle Karthe and Nikolaus Resche (AUT) are in 2nd place, while John Pink and Stuart Bithell (GBR) have pushed up into 3rd place.

In the 49erFX fleet Alex Maloney and Molly Meech are among a tight pack near the top of the leader board with fierce racing between the big names in Olympic women's skiff racing.

There is no one dominant crew in the women's 49erFX. The top ten at this Championship currently features sailors from ten different nations and most are likely to be on the start-line at Rio 2016 this August.

Alex and Molly are tied for 3rd on 21 points with the British and Argentinian pairs, behind Italy and The Netherlands. In today's three races they placed 5th, 11th and 2nd. Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich lead on 16 points after seven races.

Both New Zealand's Aon Fast Track Squad crews sailed well, improving through the day and finishing on a high note despite the challenging conditions on the water.

Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland are 16th overall in the 49erFX fleet after finishing 15th, 11th and 2nd in their three races.

Meanwhile Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson, who placed 15th, 14th, 10th and 5th today are holding 18th overall in the 49er. Racing resumes in Barcelona, Spain tomorrow.

2016 49er and 49erFX European Championships, Barcelona, Spain

New Zealand's current standings

49er

1st Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 6)

18th Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson (9, 11, 17, 15, 14, 10, 5)

49erFX

4th Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 11, 2)

16th Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland (10, 9, 9, 7, 15, 11, 2)

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