A rare high pressure system has hampered 49er sailors Jesse and Zander Kirkland’s final 2012 Olympic preparations in Weymouth, England.The past few days has seen the region experience little or no wind which have proven to be far from ideal conditions for sailing.“An uncharacteristically strong high pressure over the past few days has shown us a Weymouth we have never seen before ... days of little to no wind, with cloudless blue skies and pleasant temperatures,” said crewman Zander. “It’s weather you would more associate with Southern California than England!“It has been great weather to work on the boat and get everything dialled in, but not amazing for practice. But at this point, with the Games so close at hand, it has been fine to taper the sailing down.”The long range forecast suggests that conditions in Weymouth could return to normal for Olympic sailing.“The weather looks to be returning to more normal conditions for the Olympics,” said former Newport Harbour sailing coach Zander. “So we have been sure to stay in the gym to keep our bodies ready for a demanding week.”The brothers, currently ranked among the top 50 sailors in the world in the double-handed 49er skiff, are well familiar with waters in Weymouth having ventured there in late May to undergo a month-long training exercise that included two regattas (Sail for Gold and Coaches Regatta) featuring some of the same teams they will be up against when the Games begin.The duo have returned to the UK well ahead of the upcoming Games to step up their preparations at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy before racing begins early next week.The Kirklands are determined to stay focused on their game plan throughout the Olympic regatta and not let the big occasion get the better of them.“We are going to be focused on not over hyping this event and treating it like any other regatta,” Zander said. “We will take it race-by-race and focus on sailing a mentally disciplined week of sailing.”Sailing in the 20-strong 49er fleet — that includes four-time world champion Nathan Outteridge of Australia — commences next Monday.Teams will compete in as many as 15 races in the fleet racing format to determine the eventual ten teams that will advance to the medal round. After 15 races teams will be permitted to discard their worst finish before the remaining points are counted. Points will be doubled in the medal race that will determine final placings.The Kirklands had originally chosen to skip Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in East London but have since had a change of heart.“We are looking forward to the Opening Ceremonies and to get the event started,” Zander said. “Paul Hiles (team leader) has been navigating us through all the logistical workings of the event and has been very helpful in this regard.”The Kirklands qualified for the Olympics after producing a top ten finish at last May’s 49er World Championships in Croatia where they also won two races and reached the medal race for the first time at this level.