A faultless day on the water by Peter Burling has set alarm bells ringing for the other 159 competitors after the Tauranga sailor reeled off four straight wins on day two of the 2015 International Moth World Championship.

With the fleet split into Blue and Yellow, the Emirates Team NZ sailor was in the Blue fleet on a course closer to shore, and made the most of calm conditions to take pole position heading into business end of the competition.

Peter Burling during the 2015 International Moth World Championship. Photo: ThMartinez/Sea&Co.

Defending world champion Nathan Outteridge (AUS) was in the Yellow on a course further out and on the receiving end of bumpier conditions, scoring 3-2-2-1 results.

Two drops are in place following the seven qualifying races, with Burling on five points and Outteridge on seven. Tomorrow the fleet will be divided into Gold and Silver, with the top-half of the leader board going through to the Gold fleet.

After his disappointing results at the Worlds in 2011 and 2013, Burling says: 'I won all four races – the last one by over a lap, which is pretty pleasing in this fleet. It's all come together here.

'I did well in the light and shifty weather yesterday and today was as good. I put a lot of work into improving my game for this event.

'We were in flatter, more manageable water than the Yellow fleet, but even so, I dropped off the foil at one stage and fell back to 11th, but I still got back and won. Everyone had a swim, or crashed or overtook.”

On his competition with Outteridge, Burling says the pair are still good mates despite the difference in teams and he still views the defending champion as his biggest challenge for the title.

He names Chris Rashley and Chris Draper from Great Britain and Australians Tom Slingsby, Iain ‘Goobs' Jensen, Josh McKnight and Scott Babbage as the other main threats.

Outteridge says having beaten Burling on the first day, he knows he is capable despite forecasts for windy conditions - something he would prefer to avoid.

'I was OK for the first race today,” he says, 'but then the current change. The last race especially was full-on and I was just trying to keep up with the leaders. It was bumpy and hard going and we all swam at some stage; everyone's feeling it.”

On his Yellow fleet opponents, he adds: 'Five of us shared it around – me, Chris Rashley, Josh McKnight and Scott Babbage. Dave Lister got amongst it too. It was never going to be easy.”

Babbage is tucked into third place overall, with a win in race six giving him the jump on Outteridge's 49er crew and fellow Artemis Racing team member, Iain Jensen, who sailed in the Blue fleet and is fourth overall after.

Not so lucky was 2008 Olympic Tornado silver medallist and multiple multihull world champion Glenn Ashby. The Emirates Team NZ wing trimmer suffered extensive damage after a crash with one of the American boats in race six, dropping him down the board.

'Lucky I'm a sailmaker,” says Glenn, 'so I can fix that, but I've got a broken foil and bow damage that will take a bit of fixing. Apart from that, it was a tough and bumpy old day, but awesome sailing.”

The 2015 International Moth World Championship is being held on Port Phillip in Sorrento, Victoria.