Jesse and Zander Kirkland climbed up the leaderboard at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth, England yesterday.Provisional results showed the brothers 28th in the 38-boat 49er fleet at press time last night, up two places from the day before.Competing in strong winds for the second straight day, the Kirklands posted finishes of 13th, 16th and eighth in the three races sailed at the 2012 Olympic venue.“Today (yesterday) was another progressive day for us though the results on paper are not great,” said skipper Jesse. “It was again quite windy with the breeze 15-20 knots.“We have been making some good progress in our weaker areas and are stoked to be here another three weeks to hammer away at them.”The Kirklands managed clean starts but failed to build on them in yesterday’s races.“We had three great starts but unfortunately our speed was off due to a misunderstanding of where our rig was at, and it cost us,” skipper Jesse said. “However, by the last race we had it ballpark where we wanted it, and there’s no surprise that it was our best race.”Two-time defending Skandia Sail for Gold champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen of Australia currently lead the 49er fleet in the UK.One of the Kirkland’s top priorities in Weymouth over the next several weeks is to readjust to racing in the heavy air conditions associated with the region.“The breeze will be great practice for us and we look forward to getting back into the swing of heavy air racing,” said crewman Zander. “We are looking for improvement with our boat handling as we get reacquainted in the breeze.”Zander reckons the lessons learned at this week’s World Cup regatta will bode well for the team’s Olympic debut next month at the same venue.“We believe with some more practice in this stuff and pulling together this competitive boat speed we can post solid scores in the Olympic event in these conditions,” he added.This week has seen the Kirklands exposed to brutal conditions in Weymouth.“It has been driving rain, big waves, 15-20 knot winds and temperatures in the low 50s,” Zander said. “Our hands and feet are fighting numbness most of the day.”The Kirklands qualified for this summer’s Games after placing ninth at last month’s 49er World Championships in Croatia.