New Zealand sailor Andrew Murdoch has a share of the lead heading into the second day of the Finn World Championship in Auckland.
New Zealand sailor Andrew Murdoch Finn Gold Cup Auckland 2015. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Murdoch scored a win and a seventh in the first two races on the opening day.
New Zealand team-mate Josh Junior is the next best placed of the New Zealanders lying 13th.
33 year old Murdoch shares the lead on eight points with Great Britain's Giles Scott, who is the defending Finn World Champion and the man to beat this week.
"I had a good day, and a solid start to the regatta, a first and a seventh. It was good to win the first race in front of the home crowd - that was cool," says Murdoch.
"And I sailed a reasonably solid second race, a few points went begging here and there, but overall really happy with how it's going. I think I started well, and sailed head out of the boat."
The Hauraki Gulf provided sunny skies and 8-12 knot winds.
"It was quite a tough day. We weren't quite fully hiking a lot of the time, and a reasonable sort of a sea way coming through so it never felt super comfortable going up wind in it but I was going fast enough. It was fun sailing downwind with the free pumping."
Asked how he will approach day two Murdoch says, "Same as I did today, nothing changes, I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing and start worrying about points closer to the end of the regatta."
The 75 boat fleet is sailing as one fleet with two races planned each day, each around 75 to 90 minutes long.
The regatta is known as the Finn Gold Cup.
