Bermuda 49er team Zander and Jesse Kirkland are in 31st place after the opening day of the Rolex Olympic Class Regatta (OCR) being sailed in the waters of Biscayne Bay, Miami.

Three races were sailed yesterday in the regatta which is a mainstay on the winter circuit for sailors who are campaigning for the next Olympic Games. The event is part of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, a world class annual series for Olympic sailing.

The Kirklands, who have just come off competing at the 49er World Championships in the Bahamas and the North American Championships which were also sailed off Miami, began yesterday with a 34th place in the opening race in the international fleet of 37 boats.

But then in the second race they moved up the fleet, finishing in 22nd place, but failed to finish the third race of the day.

The regatta consists of a five-day opening series and a double-point medal race. The top ten finishers in the opening series of each event will advance to the medal race.

Australia's team of Will and Sam Phillips dominated the opening day of the 49er racing with three bullets while the second place team from France, Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis, posted a second, sixth and third.

Over 600 sailors are competing in the OCR, representing 45 nations in the 13 classes selected for the 2012 Olympics being staged in Weymouth on the English south coast.