FRIDAY, JUNE 8: Jesse and Zander Kirkland were hoping the Weymouth Skandia Sail for Gold would provide them with the perfect opportunity to get used to sailing in heavy winds.
But the winds became too heavy on Thursday and no racing was possible in the 30 to 50 knot conditions.
Zander told the Bermuda Sun he and his brother, who have qualified to race in the 49er Class at the same venue for the 2012 Olympics in seven weeks time, were happy at the progress they had made from the first day of racing.
Focus
“The boat handling was solid and the speed was improving through the day as we reconfigured our rig breeze was 15-20 knots.”
He said there were plenty of lessons to be learned and “it has helped focus us on what we need to improve on. It also did’nt help Jesse was sick right up until the event and entered it not at 100 per cent, but we pushed through it because it was great practice and we had nothing to lose.”
Zander added they still have three more weeks training at the Weymouth venue and their new coach Mark Asquith has been “very knowledgable with the boat and the venue. We are happy to have him on our team.”