The disappointment of missing out on the gold fleet by just five points could not prevent Picton sailor Taylor Burn and his Tauranga partner Oscar Rorvik from leading the silver fleet following day four of the 420 Open World Championships in Austria on Friday.

Needing a top 12 finish or better on Wednesday to make the 36-strong gold fleet, Queen Charlotte Yacht club's Burn and Rorvik could only manage a 17th in what were again tricky conditions.

However, being impeded by an Indian crew at the start did not help the pair and with the wind always dropping the chances of a major come-back were all but gone.

The 110-boat fleet had a lay-day on Thursday before resuming action in the gold, silver and bronze fleets on Friday.

Eager to prove their worth after missing out on the gold fleet, Burn and Rorvik led almost all the way in race one only for a big wind shift to bump them back to second just before the finish.

In the second race, the duo hit the lead before the first mark and kept extending until the finish to take a commanding victory.

They initially placed sixth in race three, but after several hours of protests were promoted to third.

The three top-three placings helped them to a five-point advantage over the American crew.

Rob Burn said given plenty of the crews deemed certainties to be in the gold fleet missed out on making it, the silver fleet had proved to be very tough sail- ing.

Three races over the weekend were to complete the regatta.

Final results will be published as they become available.

- The Marlborough Express

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