hoisted Bermuda sailor Peter Bromby to his highest ever position in the world rankings.

Sailing with his Olympic partner Lee White, Bromby is now rated fourth according to the latest ISAF world list.

The Bermudian pair notched fifth place overall at the recent Bacardi Cup in Florida, where they finished first in two of the races in a fleet of 99.

And they also placed fifth at the Star Spring Championships of the Western Hemisphere, sailed in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where they had two third place finishes.

The rankings are headed by American John MacCausland who sails with fellow countryman Phil Trinter.

Bromby said yesterday he was delighted by his move up the rankings and admitted everything was geared to next year's Olympics in Sydney.

"That's what we're aiming for,'' he said. "So far we've been pretty busy this year and we'll be doing a lot more racing overseas.'' The next major Star event, however, isn't until September when Bromby and White head to Punta Ala in Italy, first for the Italian Championships and then the World Championships which follow at the same venue.

However, in the meantime Bromby will be concentrating on another class. Next week he heads back to the US where he will again skipper a 50 ft yacht owned by Beach Renshaw -- a multi-million dollar handicap racing class in which Bromby has regularly competed on waters off Maine down as far as Key West.

"It's not America's Cup, but it's the next step down,'' said Bromby. "It's something I really enjoy, but the Star class is still my priority. That's what I'll be focussing on in the next year.'' Peter Bromby: highest-ever Star class world ranking