Aussie sailors rise to top on tough day in Switzerland

The Flying Roos finished the opening day of the Switzerland Sail Grand Prix on top of their group after navigating an unforgiving day of light-wind racing on Lake Geneva.

The Australians recorded a consistent 5-4-1 scoreline across the three fleet races on Saturday, closing with a race win to secure pole position in Group B heading into Sunday on 10 points.

Team strategist Tash Bryant described the challenging conditions as a "soldier's course", with crews forced to fight for every metre in the shifting, low-pressure breeze.

Flying Roos driver Tom Slingsby said the light-wind racing proved even more of a mental strain than competing in heavy-air conditions.

"In those sorts of conditions, you're pulling your hair out the whole time. We wobbled our way through and got some decent results, so we're happy about that.

"You've got so many things going on in your mind, even though the boat is moving so slowly. It feels like you're playing out 10 different scenarios in your head at all times. It may look quite slow from the shore, but for the sailors it's non-stop frustration and 'what-if' scenarios."

With the Flying Roos already qualified for the $US2 million season finale in Abu Dhabi, attention now turns to Sunday's racing in Geneva.

The Group B standings are finely balanced, with Australia just one point clear of New Zealand's Black Foils and two ahead of Great Britain and home team Switzerland.

With four teams separated by only two points, there is little margin for error as the Australians look to secure a place in the winner-takes-all final of the Switzerland Sail Grand Prix.