THREE teams trained hard over the Christmas holidays in the sleek and fast 29er class with the hope of one day representing Bermuda at the highest level. Jesse and Zander Kirkland ¿ the oldest of the three teams ¿ are thinking long term and hope to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in the 49er which is the big brother of the 29er. And they will most likely face competition for a spot on the Bermuda Olympic 2012 team from James Doughty and Gareth Williams who have been sailing in the fast skiffs a bit longer. In fact the only 49er in Bermuda is owned by Doughty and Williams. Although the duo were not part of the training group over the holidays as they only came back briefly from their bases overseas, they will be training together a lot this summer.

Doughty is in Marbella, Spain studying the hospitality industry while Williams is at the University of Southern California on the US west coast studying economics.

The Kirkland brothers will begin a full-time push for the Olympics when Jesse, 19, graduates from top US sailing school, St. Mary's College in Maryland in 2010. Older brother Zander, 24, is currently coaching sailing in California.

The other teams training in the 29er over the holidays were Oliver Riihiliouma, 18, and crewmate Peter Miller who is also 18 years old. Riihiliouma will be studying and sailing at Stanford while Miller will be at Connecticut College. Both are set to graduate in 2011. The youngest team is Josh Greenslade,16, and Blake Burgess, 15. Greenslade is at Christchurch School in Virginia while Burgess attends Mount St. Agnes.

Jesse Kirkland who like all the other sailors training in the 29er came out of Bermuda's successful Optimist class and has raced in various boats including the Laser, said of the 29er: "I have never been so fast in a sailboat as last Saturday when it blew 20-30. Out on the trapeze with the kite up, I literally felt I was going to be catapulted into the rig! We made it across the harbour in 20 seconds.

"I love the college sailing, but I am excited at the prospect of getting back onto the international track in 2009. Our first Grade One regatta will probably be the Olympic Classes Regatta in Miami, in January 2010."

Of the 29er and the 49er, he said: "Light, high speed boats are the way of the future. We want to compete at the Olympics and to build a skiff fleet in the process. A local fleet and world class training partners are part of the process. We have the talent here."

Paul Doughty, the father of James and who is also one of Bermuda's main developmental sailing coaches, said that many of the young sailors coming out of the Optimist class are looking at going into the 29er. "We have different ages in terms of Optimist graduates and there is significant interest in the whole concept of going into the skiff class ¿ it is also an Olympic path as well. When we have these kids training against each other that can only be for the good for sailing here and the class ¿ there are other kids out there now who are showing an interest in this particular class. The more visible the class becomes the more they want to sail it as they can see how the boat performs ¿ it stimulates their interest. It has taken a while to get going but people must remember that Bermuda comes from a history of skiff sailing. We had the old International 14 and the 505 class."

And Doughty said that they can sustain the class better today. "We have better organisational structure through the Bermuda Sailing Association and through the clubs in terms of sustained development. It makes a difference."

The Tornado class was big in Bermuda for a while and the island was represented at the Olympics in that class before it fell apart. And Doughty was shocked when he heard that the IOC had thrown out the Tornado as an Olympic class. "I thought that was shocking," he said. "Now the only speed boat in the Olympics is the 49er and that is sad. My feeling is that Olympic boats should be highly athletic."

And while many young sailors have had their interest piqued by the 29er class, Doughty warned that there is a big difference between the 29er and the big brother 49er.

"You cannot just step into a 49er. The guys who are training know that now ¿ some didn't initially. The 49er is a brutal boat."

And if a Bermuda team can compete in the 49er class in the Olympics and perhaps win a medal it would set sailing soaring on the island. "The Olympics are the most important thing to us," he said. "If someone won an Olympic medal in sailing everyone in Bermuda would pay attention. You could come back as a world champion in the 49er class and I don't think the Premier would be at the airport welcoming you. But win a medal in the Olympics ¿ well that is a different thing. Everyone would notice."

During the training over Christmas, American 49er coach Zach Maxim was on hand to oversee the sailors. Maxim is a friend of Zander Kirkland and is also the alternate for the 49er on the US Olympic team for China.

Jesse Kirkland said: "The training with Zach was great and very informative and made the whole process more exciting. Also having more guys out sailing and willing to put the effort into it makes a big difference as well."

Of the 2012 Olympics, Kirkland said: "For the next two years my brother and myself will be getting together to train and then in 2010 I graduate and so hopefully from that point onwards we will be competing full time."

Kirkland, an All American at St. Mary's, will return to college soon and start competing again in the double handed 420 boats.