Burling and Tuke, the four-time world champions, underlined their status as gold medal favourites, playing the light winds perfectly on the in-shore course at Guanabara Bay.
The Kiwi pair got a little bit lucky in the opening race, capitalising on a late error from the Danish crew of Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck, who had led for most of the race.
The Danes inexplicably missed the final top mark, sailing well beyond the mark before realising their error and turning back. It cost Warrer and Lubeck seven places, with the Danish pair eventually finishing eighth.
Burling and Tuke once again played the conditions perfectly in the second race, establishing themselves among the early leaders before making their move on the final upwind leg to take the lead at the last mark rounding.
The strong opening day sees Burling and Tuke hold a handy six-point lead at the top of the standings, with Portugal second on eight points, and the German crew in third.
The defending Olympic champions and Burling and Tuke's main rivals for gold, Australian pair Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, are in 11th place after recording finishes of 13th and eighth in the two races.
The fleets faced long delays before racing got underway today as officials waiting for the wind to build. The delay meant only two of the three scheduled races were sailed in the 49er class.
The light conditions did not play into the hands of the women's 470 pairing of Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie.
The Kiwi duo, collectively known as Team Jolly, have lost their overnight lead, slipping back to sixth in the standings after a 12th place finish in the only race of the day. British crew Saskia Clark and Hannah Mills - Team Jolly's key rivals for gold - have powered into the lead at the half-way point in the regatta.
Aleh and Powrie's disqualification in the opening race of the regatta is coming back to haunt them. Had their original sixth place finish stood, they would be joint leaders with the Brits now with virtually identical results.
They are not out of gold medal contention yet however, with the women's 470 fleet one of the most tightly contested, with just six points separating the top six.
Laser sailor Sam Meech was on the upward climb today. Meech moved up to sixth overall with a 13th and sixth place in his two races. He is just one point off the Dutch sailor in fifth place, but with just two races remaining in the Laser fleet, Meech will need to produce something special tomorrow to get himself in medal contention.
Meech's sister Molly and her crew-mate in the 49erFX also had a strong day as they kicked off their first Olympic regatta.
The pair recorded finishes of sixth and fifth to sit to be handily placed in sixth overall after day one. Just two points separate the top six in the highly competitive fleet.
In the men's 470, Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox have slipped back a further two places to 13th overall with a disappointing 23rd place finish in their only race today.
They have a lot of work to do over the second half of the regatta if they are to make the medal race.
- Dana Johannsen
