New Zealand sit third at the SailGP Grand Prix in New York, after an abbreviated opening day of racing.
Peter Burling's crew finished fifth in the first race and third in the second, before tough conditions on the Hudson River forced cancellation of the final scheduled contest on day one.
The Black Foils' struggles at the start-line plagued them, as they got off the mark in disadvantageous positions in both races, but managed to battle back in each to leave them well placed to reach the event's decisive podium race at the end of day two.
"The foiling/not-foiling conditions really reward sailing under pressure and having good boat handling, making good decisions," said Burling. "It felt like we were coming through the pack pretty well in both races.
"We've got these really amazing venues like we have here and this is definitely a shifty racetrack for a pretty big sport like this."
New Zealand are currently placed atop the overall Sail GP leaderboard, holding a healthy 11-point edge over Spain.
