Sailors Jesse and Zander Kirkland were left with some serious soul searching after enduring more misery on their Olympic debut in Weymouth and Portland yesterday.After four races in the double handed 49er skiff, the brothers remain anchored at the bottom of the 20-boat fleet and in desperate need of a change in fortunes if they are to salvage something from a regatta that is quickly slipping away.Hopes the Kirklands have of reaching the medal race took another beating under yesterday’s breezy and overcast conditions in Portland Harbour that mirrored disappointing finishes a day earlier. They placed 18th and posted a DNF, their second of the regatta.Things seemed promising for the local team in the early stages of the first race when they found themselves in the middle of the fleet at the first beat.But their fortunes took a turn for the worst when they lost considerable ground on the run to leeward.“The fleet is so tight and we got caught in between and were unable to hold the fastest lane,” said skipper Jesse.The local sailors tried valiantly to claw their way back into contention. But their efforts ultimately went in vain.“We tried to get back in contention heading to the second beat, but it’s hard to gain boat length against these guys and we ended up 18th,” Jesse said. “After that disappointing first run we didn’t get back into it. The damage was done from the first down wind.”If the Kirklands’ first race was a disappointment, the second was an absolute nightmare as they were forced out of the race after colliding with the windward mark and capsizing.To compound matters, crewman Zander sustained a minor cut to the face during the mishap.It was a cruel ending to what had been an “exceptional” start for the brothers.“We won the start,” said skipper Jesse. “We had an exceptional start but unfortunately our boat speed was not as good as it could have been.”The brothers reached the top mark among the top ten boats before disaster struck, sending both sailors headed for an early shower.With 11 races remaining before the ten teams that will advance to the medal race are determined, it’s still too early to write the Kirklands off.But skipper Jesse knows there’s no more margin for error the rest of the way.“A couple of bad decisions have left us where we are,” he said. “But if you look at the glass half full there are still enough races to score some respectable results.“On the whole we have been in the fight in every race from the start. But we just need to finish what we start.“We knew the Olympics were going to be hard. But we have just been on the short end of some bad luck and compounding that is these guys are exceptionally good.”The Kirklands are 43 points shy of tenth placed which is currently occupied by Austria’s Karth Nico Delle and Nikolaus Resch.Kiwis Peter Burling and Blair Tuke won yesterday’s first race while top honours in the second went to Americans Erik Storck and Trevor Moore.Reigning world champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are the current overall leaders.Racing continues today in Portland Harbour.