The overall lead at the Etchells World Championship changed hands after overnight-leader Tiburon fell slightly off the pace on day two of racing in San Francisco Bay.

The local entry, whose international crew includes Grant Simmer, the general manager of 35th America’s Cup defender Oracle Team USA, laid down a marker after topping the overall leaderboard on day one.

However, skipper Dirk Kneulman and team-mates Mark Strube and Simmer were unable to protect their lead, a 20th finish in the fourth race pushing them down to third.

Replacing Tiburon at the top were the Corinthian team of Senet Bischoff, Ben Kinney and Clay Bischoff.

Etchells boatbuilder and previous world champion Kneulman jointly owns Tiburon along with Royal Bermuda Yacht Club skipper Mark Watson, who was ruled out after injuring his knee.

Canadian Kneulman sails out of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club but is racing under the Bermuda flag as the team qualified for the championship competing in the local Etchells fleet.

Among those making considerable headway in the standings were American skipper Scott Kaufman, whose crew includes Bermudian Olympian Jesse Kirkland, who is serving as tactician on board American Jane II.

Kaufman and his team-mates, who came from behind to win the Etchells North American Championships in San Diego last month, posted a third and sixteenth to climb 11 places from 25th to fourteenth.

American Jane II’s crew also includes Olympic silver medal-winner and past Optimist world champion Lucas Calabrese, who trained with Kirkland under Bermuda Optimist coach Pablo Weber in the Nineties.

The remaining Bermuda entry in the 51-boat racing fleet, Thrash, helmed by multiple national champion Tim Patton, was also on the move, climbing eight places off the bottom into 43rd.

Patton is competing with his son, Campbell, for the first time at the championship which concludes tomorrow. Also competing on Patton’s boat is Shaun Priestly who is Campbell’s Laser coach.

The start of racing was once again delayed for two hours because of a lack of wind, which eventually filled in from the west at 16 to 17 knots when racing began at 2.20pm. Other notables competing in San Francisco are Australian skipper Iain Murray, the regatta director for the 35th America’s Cup, which Bermuda hosted this year.