Wellington, Jan 7 NZPA - With only two races left in the Splash world sailing championship off Auckland, New Zealand sailors fill the top three spots in provisional results.

After two clear wins today, Chris Steele leads the fleet with 20 points, defending champion Declan Burn is second on 25 points, and 2008 world champion Ben Lutze third with 35 points.

The trio have a clear but not unassailable lead over fourth placeholder Mathieu de By (Netherlands), who sits on 46 points.

Consistency will be very important tomorrow, and so far Steele's performance has been close to immaculate. After 11 races the 18-year old from Devonport has only twice finished outside the top three. Declan Burn has maintained top eight finishes throughout the regatta.

New Zealander Laura Hemingway leads the women's division and is 20th overall. Svenja Weger (Germany) is 19 points behind her.

The Splash dinghy is a fast, modern single-handed dinghy designed for sailors under-19.