Racing at the ILCA 7 World Championship turned nasty in Dún Laoghaire on day three, and the three Kiwis in the gold fleet are having to dig deep.
Tom Saunders remains the top New Zealander, sitting 22nd overall after a best score of 20th in the two-race day. The former class world champion opened the regatta with a race win, and he's now four points clear of teammate George Gautrey, who sits 25th.
Gautrey posted a 27th in the first race before discarding a 36th. Caleb Armit had a tougher time of it, carding a 26th and dropping a 46th to sit 43rd overall.
Four gold fleet races remain.
The breeze was tricky all day, sitting between 8 and 11 knots and shifting left as the afternoon wore on. A one-metre swell didn't help matters either.
That instability showed at the top of the leaderboard too. Singapore's Ryan Lo took over the overall lead with a race win and a seventh, while home favourite Finn Lynch slipped from first to second after a 31st and a 10th.
Britain's Finley Dickinson was among the big movers, jumping from 18th to seventh overall on the back of a 5-4 scoreline. Australia's Zac Littlewood also made ground, climbing from 15th to eighth with a 3-8.
Twice Olympic gold medallist Matt Wearn had another rough outing. He dropped a 40th before finishing 18th, leaving him 12th overall.
Away from the gold fleet battle, George Pilkington had his best day of the regatta. Sailing in the silver fleet, he finished fifth in the day's second race to move up to 71st overall.
Zach Stibbe sits 108th overall in the bronze fleet, just outside the top 10 there.
Racing continues tonight, New Zealand time, with two more races on the schedule. First warning signal is set for 11pm.
