In his first competitive regatta since the Olympics, Peter Bromby reminded international rivals why he is among the Star Class' best skippers, placing third in the Bacardi Cup yesterday.

Competing with American Rick Peters as crew, the Bermudian copped eighth in the final race of the six-race series at the US Sailing Center in Miami, Florida. This left him on 20 points overall, six behind winner Mark Mendelblatt and two adrift of another American, Howie Shiebler, who was the runner-up.

Despite surrendering his overnight lead, Bromby was buoyant about the result.

"No, I'm not at all disappointed. The purpose of me being here this week was to stay in touch with what's going on. I'm taking a year off so I'm just checking in, seeing what's going on with regard to the (Star) Class, who is using what equipment and making sure I don't lose touch," he said, revealing his mission.

Given that the week had been a seesaw battle involving the Bermudian and the two skippers who beat him, the Island's most prominent sailing son was hardly surprised by the outcome.

"Anything could have happened today with conditions being light. Some of the other guys do better than we do in light air so we knew we would have our hands full."

It didn't help that he started poorly and, ultimately, this cost him top billing.

"We were in trouble early and he (Mendelblatt) got on us at the start. We got caught in the traffic and he sprung clear. We spent the rest of the race trying to catch him. We made some pretty big inroads and second (place) was on the line as well with Howie Shiebler.

"He (Shiebler) needed to beat us by five (boats) and at the bottom mark he was winning the race and we were sixth. At that point he would have won on tiebreak so we needed to pass one more boat to beat him for second but that didn't happen."

All the while, Bromby added, Mendelblatt ? who placed second in the final race ? kept a watchful eye on them to ensure they didn't gain ground on him.

"It was a difficult race to come back into. The start let us down. It was bad and Mendelblatt had a great start.

"You need to get off the line at least level with the other boats and if you get off the line in trouble it's going to be a long day."

The four-time Olympian returns home satisfied that he remains among the best in his discipline though "this wasn't the strongest field". Still, he is pleased considering that he and American friend Peters ? who deputised for crew regulars Lee White and Martin Siese ? had sailed just once together before.

"When you consider that we were in the lead going into today and we had a chance, that's great. That's all you hope for ? that you give yourself a shot on the final day. There's nothing worse than not having a prayer on the last day.

"We were happy we had a chance though it didn't come good for us this time. There were a lot of people who knew they weren't going to win before they left the dock today," noted the 40-year-old.

Apart from confirming his international standing, the Bacardi Cup did something even more important for Bromby ? rid him of any vestiges of heartache about last summer's Olympic campaign.

"Getting back in a boat has probably helped me get over it to be quite honest," he said, reflecting on a bitter Athens experience where he and White finished eighth despite being ranked among the world's best.

"We worked hard and put in a first-class effort for the Games and they were a big disappointment in terms of our result, not making it on the podium. We really felt we had a chance so when we got back home we didn't want to jump back in a boat right away.

"It took some getting over that but I really enjoy racing the Star. There's nothing like it ? high-quality racing in a great boat at a great venue."

Bromby, whose priority this year is to build his house, stressed this was a one-off foray and that, apart from possibly competing in Bermuda International Race Weekend, he will not race until next January's Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta ? and even that is not certain.

"That's my plan at this point but I don't even know if Martin and Lee are interested in going again. There's a lot of unanswered questions."