Tauranga sailor Sam Meech is making a late charge at the 2013 Laser World Championships, pushing his way into the top 10 on the penultimate day in Oman.

The Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club member, along with fellow club member Thomas Saunders and Auckland's Andy Maloney, are all still fighting it out for a respectable finish in the 126-strong gold fleet.

Sam Meech is currently placed 10th at the 2013 Laser World Championships.

On the fifth day of racing, Meech made the most of the light and shifty conditions recording a 10th placing on the water in the sole race of the day following a series of postponements. The result sees Meech creep up one position in the overall standings to 10th.

Big shifts meant selecting the right side of the course was critical and the majority of the top placed sailors recorded a race where they crossed the line outside the top 10.

Both Maloney and Saunders were among those who suffered in the difficult conditions coming away with a 33rd and a 39th respectively.

Both remain inside the top 20 sailors in Oman and with two races yet to come they will be focussed on rounding out the six day regatta with some top race finishes. Maloney is in 16th and Saunders is in 20th.

The official report describes today's conditions as light winds and big shifts keeping both race officials and sailors on their toes with the forecast of a major storm during the afternoon putting time pressures on the course setters.

'But after one Gold fleet race and a shortened Silver fleet circuit, the fleet was sent back to shore as lightning started to strike at Musannah beach,” says the report.

'After a morning postponement lasting almost two hours, the gold fleet were sent off with the wind speed hovering around the six knot mark and the shifts creating uncertainty on the start line.”

Overall leader, Brazil's Robert Scheidt, retains his place atop the standings after a 12th today, Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus is in 2nd and Sweden's Jesper Stalheim is in 3rd.

The Championship concludes tomorrow with two races planned and the world champion for 2013 set to be crowned.

2013 Laser World Championships, Muscat, Oman

New Zealand's standings after day four (total fleet 126)

10th Sam Meech (16, 26, 7, 15, 17, 1, 2, 8, 10)

16th Andy Maloney (7, 7, 8, 19, 5, 23, 22, 5, 33)

20th Thomas Saunders (15, 4, 11, 2, 22, 21, 44, 6, 39)

101st George Lane

104th Michael Cate