Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Palma Training Update

We have gotten four days of training in a several different conditions since our arrival in Palma. It took a couple days of getting Sled back into race shape after her long hiatus over the winter (and waiting for our rig to arrive from Barcelona), but by Sunday we were out on the Bay off of Palma. What a nice place to sail at with the mountains of Mallorca offering a great background to the turquoise Bermuda-esque waters of the Mediterranean. And weather-wise, we have been very fortunate with temperatures gradually rising since we arrived here.

Sailing-wise, we are shaking off the rust after our break. Everyday we are feeling more and more comfortable in the boat. And sailing in our new boat has certainly helped! The differences (other than being 10 years older) between 646 and 1108 are unbelievable between the stiff wings and hull, the acceleration and the sheer buoyancy of the boat. Our first and foremost goal of this pre-event was to regain our boat balance and boat handling touch. After 4 days in the bag, and a couple more planned, we feel our confidence and form coming back. And with a few more days of training still planned before the event, our boat handling will only improve.

To sum it up, the sailing has been positive thus far. Getting back into this new boat has most certainly been a moral-booster. After an agonizing OCR in our old boat, we are now seeing a fruition of our hard work throughout the Fall. Our speed and boat handling is now comparable to many in the fleet (though there is room for improvement!), which has now enabled us to actually race! And indeed, we have found ourselves time to time in uncharted territory of the fleet with a few good practice races in various conditions.

So after another couple days of practice we will lay low and go over the boat before racing begins Monday. Stay posted!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Spring 2011 Euro-Campaign Kicks off!

We just arrived in Palma, to begin our important 2011 Euro ISAF World Cup campaign, which will be crucial in preparing us for the 2011 World Championships (Olympic Qualifier #1) to be held in the end of the year in Australia. It has been just under 5 weeks since we have last seen a 49er and we both have the itch to get back in the boat. The time away (this will be our biggest break of the year) from the boat has great and the break was strategically planned to avoid burn out problems as this busy year on the circuit cranks up. We were busy during the furlough and were able to inject some balance in our life. We fundraised, painted houses, coached, pursued our other passions (soccer and surfing), caught up with friends and family, and planned for the rest of year. The other cool aspect of all of this was talking to all our friends who were wishing us their best. It really helps us get us psyched up for what we are doing because sometimes when you are immersed in challenges associated with the campaign you can lose site of the big picture and to know that we do have a ton of support is huge. Thank you!

'Seamount Sled', our newish boat, is here and we can't wait to get her rigged up and feel the STIFF boat. One logistical reality is that our rig is in the American container which is still en transit, so we will have to see how that comes together. We have some boat work to do anyways and so hopefully it will not prove to be too big of a hiccup. The Americans were very generous to help us with our rig transportation across the Atlantic, an expensive proposition, so we will have to work around this reality.

We will keep you posted on our progress here as we gear up for the event which starts on the 4th.

-Zander

ps. Jesse capped off his month of soccer with a hat trick in his last game for Robin Hood. His second goal could have been on a sports center highlight clip - a rocket from 20 yds into the lower 90!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Capital Reserve replenishment



After 2 months in Miami, sailing full-time, and no work, we have depleted cash reserves and a deep desire to get some money in the bank before we head to Europe on the 20th. What do the Kirkland Bro's do for a quick hustle? Paint! We have had an exterior painting project this week at a friend's house and next week we are doing another friend's roof. Anybody want to join our waiting list for our next project? haha
We have also been doing some Opti coaching when we can, but we really can't wait to get back in the boat in Europe! We have a big spring lined up and are ready to raise the bar.

-Zander