Weymouth turned nasty on Day 4 of the iQFOiL World Championships, and New Zealand's Veerle ten Have thrived in it.
The Tauranga sailor climbed two more places on the leaderboard, sitting fifth overall after scores of 4-15-6-14 across four course races. That's six places better than she was two days ago, and it puts her firmly in contention for Saturday's top-10 medal series.
Four qualification races remain before that cut is made.
Grey skies, a westerly gusting well above 15 knots and a solid chop made conditions tough for everyone on the water. It was a sharp change from Thursday's lighter, more tactical sprint slalom format, with the race committee opting to switch back to straight course racing for both fleets.
Teammate Aimee Bright opened well, crossing fifth in the first race of the day. Things unravelled after that. A 30, an 18 and a UFD dropped her to 19th overall, 59 points off the top ten.
Josh Armit gave New Zealand something to shout about in the men's fleet, finishing second in the day's opening gold-fleet race, a result in keeping with his reputation as one of the world's better male riders.
He couldn't hold that momentum. A discarded 30 was followed by a 12 and a 23, though Armit still edged up one spot to 15th overall. He's within 30 points of Italy's Federico Pilloni, who currently holds 10th, so a late charge into the knockout series remains possible.
Elsewhere in the gold fleet, Eli Liefting sits 36th, while Blake Hinsley is well back in 98th.
Two days of racing remain before Weymouth decides who goes through. For ten Have in particular, the medal series is starting to look within reach.
