WEDNESDAY, MAY 9: It was a disastrous start for Zander and Jesse Kirkland at the 49ers World Championships in Croatia Tuesday.
The pair ended Monday in high spirits as third overall, but they were black flagged in the first of three races today.
The brothers recovered nicely in the second race to come in fifth. They were 16th in the third race.
They now stand 17th in a fleet of 74 overall as they bid to claim a spot at the 2012 London Olympics.
The brothers said on their Facebook page: “We were fifth in the first race only to find out we were over (the line).
“We rallied in the second race to finish fifth again.
“In the final race we got caught on the wrong side of the pressure on the first beat and missed a couple of opportunities to claw back into the top 10.
“(We’re )sitting 17th overall — points are close throughout. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”
The Kirkland brothers have 32 points, which is 18 behind leaders Tobias Schadwaldt and Hannes Baumann from Germany. Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinzki from Poland are in second with 17 points while Nathan Outerbridge and Iain Jesen from Australia are in third, also with 17 points.
The top 25 boats from the Red, Blue and Yellow Fleets will be combined into a Gold Fleet on Thursday.
Racing will continue through Saturday.