After enjoying considerable success sailing the European racing circuit, Bermuda's Zander Kirkland hopes to take his good form into next month's Pan-Am Games in the Dominican Republic.

Kirkland is currently ranked 163rd among the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) rankings in the Laser class and is coming off good showings at both the Kiele and Europa Cup regattas in Germany and Denmark.

"I definitely have my work cut out for me, but as long as I'm focused and on top of my game then I think I can put together a good regatta," said Kirkland, who hopes to finish in the top bracket.

"Last year I was on the edge. I'm probably at the bottom level of the top pack now as I've just managed to break through this summer."

Kirkland described competing in Europe as very challenging.

"Sailing at the top level you can't make any mistakes with the boat handling. It's fast and they don't make many mistakes. They are also sailing full time," noted the Tufts University student. "So they are pretty much professional."

Reflecting upon the past regattas, Kirkland is pleased with his performances.

"It has been a great experience. I did manage a few good races which helped me out overall and I was pretty happy," he said.

Kirkland will be home for the next week and a half before heading out to Santo Domingo to begin preparations for the Pan-Am Games where he will rub shoulders with six-time world champion Robert Scheidt of Brazil.

"I sailed against him at Kiel and I just watched him . . . he's kind of like the Pele of sailing and is really amazing," added the two-year Laser skipper.

"I am going to try and get there a little bit early to start training and hopefully I can finish in the top seven."

Kirkland hopes to compete in Europe again next spring and qualify for next year's Olympic Games in Athens, Greece at the World Championships in Turkey.

"Qualifying for the Olympics is going to be tough," he predicted. "So my chances of qualifying this year are not that good because there are still a lot of countries that have yet to qualify and they do it in three batches.

"But next year I am going to be sailing full-time and hopefully I will have my speed up and boat handling and be at my best for the World Championships. Then hopefully I can qualify for Athens."

Meanwhile, Bermuda's contingent of young Optimist sailors are now priming for this week's World Optimists Championships in the Canary Islands.

Bermuda capped off another dominating performance in Mexico last week where they successfully retained both the individual and team racing championships.