Jesse and Zander Kirkland opened their ISAF World Cup of Sailing event in Hyeres, France with a 48th place in the first day of racing.The Bermuda duo finished the first day with a pair of 23rd placings along with a 24th to end the day with 70 points, leaving them sitting in 48th out of 66 sailors heading into the second day.Having spent the week preparing for less then ideal conditions, the brothers used what they had learnt in training during the week to good effect on day one.“We had three good accelerations off the line and were looking good early on,” said Zander. “However, in race one, we were over early and had to return to clear ourselves.“That put us dead last by 100 yards, but we sailed fast in the 12-14kt easterly and caught boats the entire race to finish a credible 23rd.“In race II, the wind built a little and we had another good start towards the pin, heading to the favoured left side. However, we managed to flame out of this great position because I dropped the mainsheet working it through the large chop and sent both of us into the water. We went from the top group to the middle group instantly.“The last race started well, another nice acceleration, but we pulled the trigger a hare late and slowly lost our lane off the line.”Current leaders Erik Storck and Trevor Moore of the US (5) lead Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis of France (11) by six points.The Sibello brothers, Pietro and Gianfranco of Italy, round out the top three with 12 points.Scores are based upon each sailors finishing position at the end of each race.Each score is added up, with the winner of a race earning one point and ascending in one point increments.