World-renowned sailing coach Ramon Oliden reckons brothers Jessie and Zander Kirkland have what it takes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in England.

The 31-year-old Argentine is currently on Island to help the brothers acclimatise to the 49er skiff and has been encouraged by the steady progress they have made in a short period of time.

"I think they have good potential. Zander is very strong which is good for hoisting the sails and spinnaker while Jessie is a very good skipper. I think it's a very good combination," Oliden said.

The Kirklands are bidding to become the first Bermudian sailors to compete at the Olympics since Peter Bromby and Lee White's appearance at the 2004 Games in Athens.

And in Oliden they have chosen a man who comes highly recommended for the job having coached Argentina to a bronze medal in Athens in the Tornado Class and Spain to a silver medal in the 49er at last year's Olympics in Beijing.

The Buenos Aires resident has won an Optimist Worlds as a sailor and a coach and has also won national titles in his native Argentina in the Optimist, Cadet and 470 classes.

He began coaching at the Opti level in 1999 and since then has earned a reputation as one of the best in the business.

Just ask the Kirklands. "It's reassuring when he (Oliden) has a voice with everything that's going on in the boat.

"He just offers you the right advice which make things a whole lot better because when we first began sailing the boat (last December) we really didn't know what we were doing," said three-time All-American skipper Jessie.

"We could hop in and sail the boat, but we didn't know the right technique that's needed and so having him here to show us how to do the right thing sits better with us."

Zander added: "We wanted to learn the right way so we can learn the quickest. We know we are racing against time with the Olympics and all the championships before that. So we figured to do it right with the best coaching."

The 49er is considered as one of the most challenging of all Olympic class boats to sail, making the Kirkland's task all the more daunting.

"It is very difficult because it's an extreme boat and if you loose concentration you can capsize and lose everything," Oliden said.

Jessie said: "A large portion of sailing this boat is the rigging technique and preparation; you can spend hours just rigging the boat and doing that properly enables the boat to sail better and gives you more control."

Oliden is scheduled to leave the Island at the end of the week but will rejoin the Kirklands in California later this summer for additional one-on-one tutoring.

The brothers plan to compete in next year's Miami Olympic Class Regatta and World Championships in Bahamas and will begin sailing full-time after Jessie graduates from St Mary's College next May.

Only recently Jessie helped St.Mary's Seahawks to a first National title in seven years in San Francisco while elder brother Zander coached Newport to Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association double-handed glory in Florida.

Next week Jessie will defend his Long Distance Comet Race title sailing along with new crewmember Joshua Greenslade, who helped Christ Church School to a maiden Leukaemia Cup and Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association Spring Series Fleet Racing Championship earlier this year.

Greenslade is scheduled to join Jessie at St.Mary's College at the start of the Fall Semester.