Zander and Jesse Kirkland finished 15th at the 2010 North American 49er Championships hosted by the Miami Yacht Club. And now the Bermuda brothers are gearing up for next week's Rolex Miami Olympic Class Regatta which also will be sailed on the waters of Biscayne Bay.

The Kirklands took part in the North Americans shortly after competing in the World Championships in the Bahamas and are trying to get as many regattas in the 49er under their belt before younger brother Jesse returns for his final semester at St. Mary's College in Maryland and Zander returns to the US west coast to work.

The World Championships were the first regatta of many the Kirklands plan on sailing in order to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

Sailing in a fleet of over 20 boats at the North Americans on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the Bermudian duo had finishes of 12, DNF, 11, 18, 17, 13 and 13. Seven races were counted and they finished with 85 points.

While the North American Championships were relatively small and contained, for the most part sailors who are just getting started in the 49er class, like the Kirklands, the Miami OCR will be more along the lines of the Worlds.

Zander said: "I expect there will be 30-40 boats and it will have a similar feeling to the Worlds. This regatta (North Americans) has been more mellow because there are a lot of younger guys like us who are new to the boat.

"But the Miami OCR will be intense. There will be a lot of teams who are jostling for funding money from their national associations. We will not have that pressure – we will just be going out every day trying to learn something new and get better."

More than 640 sailors from 44 countries have registered for Miami OCR proving its prominence as a must-sail event for Olympic sailors. The entry list, which has surpassed last year's numbers, has quickly become a who's who of Olympic medallists and world champions.

It is the second stop on the 2009-2010 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup circuit and will be sailed from January 25 to January 30, in all the classes selected for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For the American sailors there will be even more pressure as the results will count towards their 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup standings.

Aside from its importance on the world stage, the regatta is crucial for American sailors in that it's the last qualifying event for the 2010 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, which will select the top sailors in each Olympic and Paralympic class.

Zander said that he and his brother Jesse were working on their 49er yesterday and then will go out and practise today, Thursday and Friday.

"We are staying at my cousin's house (in Miami) so that has been very convenient. We need to do some work on the boat – replace lines and other things that you can't get to during an event. We will take Saturday off and then sail a bit during the practice race on Sunday."

During the final day's racing on Monday in the North American Championships, Zander said he and his brother felt that they were getting better and better.

"We had a long day – four races were sailed and we were out on the water for about six hours. It was a good day but we got a bit unlucky in the first race with problems with the spinnaker. Other than that we are chipping away and it was great practice.

"We also had a number of firsts – our first gybe set in the race, our first day going out and not capsizing and our first really good start.

"We also had our first 360 after our spinnaker hit the Japanese boat! We had to take the penalty turn and that costs time especially in these boats. We were in seventh place at the time and so we were a bit bummed that that happened but it was a minor thing. Overall were we happy."