Friday, June 19, 2009




Couple more pics from our first training week...fun times and a lot work!
Jesse's remarks after first clinic with Ramon:
It has been a great week of sailing! We could not have asked for better breeze as the first few days were in 5-12knots, while the final couple days it increased to 12-18knots. Having the guidance of Ramon with every facet of the boat, from technique to rigging definitely gives a sense of reassurance. The sailing has felt so much better since the first days over Christmas... I feel much more comfortable and in tune with the boat. However, having said that, there is still so much improvement to be had. Having a great center of balance is needed for steering whether it is tacking wing to wing, or going screaming fast downwind in waves. Over the last week, I have really noticed the composer and steadiness required by me while steering- any erratic movements on the helm can be an immediate catalyst to mistakes in the boat. But all in all, a great beginning to 49ering.

Saturday, June 13, 2009


Ramon Olideen, our Argentine 49er coach was everything we could hoped for and more in our first 6 day training camp in Bermuda from June 7-12.  He was very knowledgeable, calm, tough, yet fun at the right time and he knew when to call it a day when we were too exhausted to sail any more.  He helped us with all the facets of the boat and sailing it, from the complex rigging and boat work associated with the boat, to showing us the 'go-fast' boat handling techniques (which his Spanish 49er team used to get a Bronze Medal in China and a Gold Medal in Athens) which maximise speed and efficiency.  We are still in the infant stages of our 49er sailing endeavour (7 days logged) and will need countless hours to practice, practice, practice, but we have made the all important start and inertia no longer weighs us down!

Nice Press Coverage: 
http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=70&articleId=7d965b33003000c

Zander's view on the boat after 2 days of 12-18kts:
My arms are beat after dealing with the big kite (same size as Etchells kite) and I am going to work on my fitness and strength for the next clinic in August.  Right now going downwind in breeze feels like a constant arm wrestle with someone much bigger than me and I am always just on the verge of losing the battle.  Upwind, the big struggle is keeping the main trimmed perfectly/boat flat and working on the wire to wire tacks, but we are we were getting better at them towards the end of our last session (great way to end the week!).

A few of the lessons learned after sailing these boats in breeze:
-Not possible to take a break on the boat, the boat is too inherently unstable to let your guard down.  Take rests standing up and holding on.  
-Don't try and get air on charter fishing boat's wake, you will either break your boat or make an ass of yourself or both!  (We stomped the landing on Playmate's winward wake, but couldn't pull the bow out of the leeward wake).  Sometimes in these boats you have to learn the hard way.  But next time we will bear away/depower and luff the kite!
-Constanly replace your spectra, it all gets so loaded up, it needs to be perfect all the time.  We broke the jib sheet and vang in 2 days.
-Trust Jesse!  So much mutual trust out there (I have the kite and he is driving, both equally powerful forces on the boat) and thats the only way it will work.

All for now,
Zander



Next Training Week is planned for late August in California.  This summer Jesse will be doing the BUSA tour representing ICSA and Zander will be running the Jr. Sailing program at NHYC.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Great Spring for the Kirkland Brothers!

We have raised $22,000 in the past month and are in the process of restructuring our fundraising strategy, so hopefully more will be on the way. For now, we have enough to start!

Jesse just won the ICSA College Dinghy Championships with St. Mary's. He was 2nd in a highly competitive A Division and was very fast upwind in the breezy conditions of San Francisco Bay; a testament to Jesse being among the elite of American sailors in his peer group. He attributes his success to good starts and lane management off the line. Congrats to the Seahawks for winning their third College Dinghy Title in team history. The St. Mary's team was second in the Team Race National Championship, making them the most successful team through both National Championships. Jesse was also named an ICSA All-American skipper for the third time in three years. Jesse's racing at such a high level in college will be a tremendous resource for the Kirkland Brothers Team as they sail in the competitive 49er events around the world.

Zander just finished up his 2 year coaching gig at Newport Harbor High School, where he lead the team to three National Titles: 2008 Cressy (Singlehanded Champs), 2009 Mallory (Doublehanded Fleet Racing Champs) and 2009 Baker (Team Racing Champs). This spring was a very special one for him and his team, where they swept both the Mallory and Baker Trophies. The "Spring Sweep" has only been done seven times in the history and only once before by the Newport Harbor Team. Zander attributes the team's success to raw talent, hard work ethic in practice and the hunger to WIN. He managed very competitive practices, where everyone pushed each other to new heights and he even jumped in the CFJ from time to time to act as "Team Racing Fodder" to push his "A" team. All the sailboat racing Zander has watched over the past two years has matured his game and will undoubtedly help the Kirkland Brothers team improve as he brings his analytical coaching philosophy to the Brothers' sailing.

First Clinic with Ramon Olideen - June 7th -12th - Bermuda
We will be updating our movement on the learning curve as we sail with a World Class Coach for five days. Looking forward to some beautiful sailing in Bermuda and learning a lot!