Bermuda's Zander Kirkland has been awarded an IOC Olympic Solidarity Youth Development grant.

And the promising young sailor has wasted little time in purchasing a new Laser dinghy in Europe with some of his new-found funds.

Kirkland is currently competing in Europe in preparation for August's Pan-Am Games in Santo Domingo and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The Bermudian skipper recently moved up the ISAF World Rankings from 550th to 202nd in the Laser class.

Kirkland competed last week in Denmark in the Scandinavian Race Week where he placed 10th overall among a competitive fleet.

The youngster finished on a high, registering a first in the final race of the regatta, having earlier recorded finishes of 13th, 11th and seventh.

But despite that solid performance, he noted there was still plenty of room for improvement.

"My focus will be on starting well and picking that first shift to get clear," said Kirkland from his current base Denmark. "Last year I focused on downwind speed and improved that part of my game."

Sailing six days a week last fall and sailing on the spring college circuit have also reaped dividends.

"I still go into this summer with no expectations for results, only performance improvement," he added.

"The race that I won I led the entire way at every mark. I had a bad start and ducked a bunch of boats and headed towards a dark big shift on the right.

"Generally I have good speed downwind because in these conditions (eight to 12 knots) I am fast all around - kind of like the Europeans last year. It was nice to end on a good note."