Jesse and Zander Kirkland will be looking to get their 2012 Olympic campaign off to a promising start during today's opening races in the 49er skiff.The brothers are among the 20 teams whose sailing skills will be tested over the next several days in what promises to be challenging racing conditions in Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.“We know it's going to be windy and we know it's going to be hard,” said crewman Zander, who carried Bermuda's flag during the Olympic Opening Ceremony. “But we also know we can hang in that wind with these top teams.“We are going to be sailing in pretty shifty conditions kind of like Gold Cup in Hamilton Harbour where the wind can be all over the place and at times you can be lucky or unlucky.”Skipper Jesse, the younger of the two siblings, is treating the Olympic regatta as he would any other.“You can't put this regatta on a pedestal,” he said. “It's just another event and you have to approach it with the same mindset as any other.“You can't focus too hard on it being the Olympics and that different things will win you races because it's just like any other sail boat race. The same fundamental things that will win you races anywhere else will also allow you to finish well in races here.”The Kirklands are among a star-studded racing fleet that includes four-time 49er world champion Nathan Outteridge of Australia.“There's 20 good teams lined up so it's going to be a tight event,” said Zander. “We are at the Olympics, the pinnacle of sport, so if you want to do well you have to be able to execute at this level.“We are just going to take it one race at a time and try and chip away and stay focused. If we can do that and get in a zone we could find ourselves in a good position heading into the crescendo next week.”Brother Jesse added: “Every point is going to be hard fought so riding your luck and mitigating mistakes will be the key.”The 49er is an evolution of the International 14's and Aussie 18's. The boat has very fine lines forward that remove the slap and thud associated with going to windward at speed.The 16 foot skiff is controllable over 20 knots and benefits from easy handling, even in the most highly competitive races and tough conditions.“We're sailing a high performance boat in high performance conditions so it's going to be an exciting week,” said Zander.The Kirklands have left no stone unturned in the final lead-up to competition that have included thorough inspections of the hull and rigging on their 49er that shares the name of the indigenous Bermuda Cahow.“You don't want to have any mishaps with your equipment on the course,” said past All American college sailor Jesse. “If anything goes wrong let it be boat handling or a tactical decision and not something you can control.”Today's opening two races in the 49er fleet will be held on the medal course in Portland Harbour in variable winds ranging between 14-25 knots.