The waters of Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbor will be filled with the stars of sailing including Bermuda’s Jesse and Zander Kirkland over the next couple of weeks as the team's training camps at the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition venue turn serious as the sixth ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta, Skandia Sail for Gold gets going.
The 523 entries from 59 nations will feature 723 athletes and while numbers might be down on last year - when many nations used the event to select their Olympic teams - there's no doubt that the cream of world sailing will be racing at Skandia Sail for Gold.
The 49er Skiff Fleet in which the Kirklands will take part stands out as the only class with none of the Qingdao medalists competing at Skandia Sail for Gold. Most conspicuous is probably the absence of the 2004 Gold and 2008 Silver medalists, Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez - both are currently competing in the Volvo Ocean Race, and defending an overall lead. The class will not be short of talent though, with the dominant Aussie pairing of Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen being the team to watch - Skandia Sail for Gold champions in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
