The pair, winners of the Rio 2016 Olympic test event last year, began the day off the pace of Dutch racers Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning, who had stormed to the top of the standings on the opening day.

As the stiff early breeze reducing throughout the course of competition, Waterhouse and Darmanin proved the best duo to deal with the changes as they recorded two third and one fourth place finish after only three of the four races were possible.

It allowed them to discard their high score of 19 and move onto the top of the standings on a total of 13 points, with Mulder and De Koning lying second on 20.

Argentina’s Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli sit in third place on 26.

"It was a lot of fun out there and I'm sure there were a lot of ups and downs and we are happy to come away on the right side of it,” said Waterhouse.

“We had a really good day and were really consistent, it was tricky and typical of Miami.

“We can take it forward for the rest of the regatta.”

The men’s 49er and women’s 49erFX were the only Olympic classes to complete their full schedule of races due to the decreasing wind.

Defending Miami 49er champions Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch showed their skill in the conditions as they moved into first place having recorded fourth, second and a first place finishes, although they were forced to discard a score of 13.

The Austrians lie on a total of 12 points with Britain’s James Peters and Fynn Sterritt seven points further back, while the Portuguese pairing of Jorge Lima and Jose Costa are third on 24.

Norway’s Ragna and Maia Agerup lead the 49erFX with the overnight leaders having moved onto a score of 17, opening up a lead of seven points on New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech.

Only two races were possible in the men’s 470 class but it turned out to be an excellent day for the American pairing of Stuart McNay and David Hughes as they moved into the lead are winning both races.

Spain’s Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera are just two points off behind the Americans tally as they have four points following the opening two days of competition.

In the women’s event, Brazil’s Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan also have a total of two points and built a narrow advantage over Austria’s Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar, who lie on five.

Dutch sailor Rutger van Schaardenburg remains in command of the overall lead in the laser class after he secured a victory and a sixth place finish, the latter currently not counted towards his score of four.

It gives him a six point buffer over Filip Jurišić heading into the final three days of the regatta.

With only two races having been completed so far in the women’s laser radial, China’s Lijia Xu has made the best start by scoring three points, but Belgium’s Evi Van Acker is just one point adrift.

Two victories have given China’s Chunzhuang Liu a three point advantage over Dutchman Dorian Van Rijsselberge in the men’s RS:X competition, while no racing was possible on the day in the women’s event.

In the 2.4mR Paralympic class, Canada’s Bruce Millar boasts a one point lead over Britain’s Helena Lucas with a victory and a second place finish.