Kirkland Brothers 49er Sailing

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!