Sailors Peter Bromby and Lee White now carry the burden of providing the one bright spot for Bermuda at an Olympic Games that have so far thrown up nothing but heartache and heartbreak.

And on Saturday the wily duo showed they might just be able to deliver the goods.

A magnificent opening race in the Star Class saw Bromby and White nail down fourth place in Sydney Harbour, having continually challenged for the lead.

Their second outing of the afternoon reaped a less satisfying 10th. But standings after two of the 11 races show Bermuda comfortably placed in sixth overall, just four points out of the silver medal position.

If there was any doubt that the Star Class would be the most closely fought and evenly contested of all the sailing regattas here in Sydney, it was quickly erased on an opening day when the wind blew no stronger than seven knots.

New Zealand's world ranked match racer Gavin Brady with crew Jamie Gale finished dead last in the 16-boat fleet in race one. But then completely turned the tables to win the second race.

It was that kind of day with Australian favourites Colin Beashel and David Giles posting two eighths and Atlanta gold medallists Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira having to settle for a third and a 13th.

As such, Bromby and White find themselves ahead of both the defending champions and the world champions, and although there's still a lot of sailing left, Bromby agreed it had been an encouraging start.

"Not bad at all, particularly the first race,'' he said. "We were in good position again in the second race, and it was a really close finish. If we'd been five seconds faster we'd have been in the silver medal spot.'' As for the topsy turvy results, Bromby said they came as no surprise.

"It's what I've been saying all along about this class. Anybody on any day can be top or bottom.

"But on Monday (races three and four), two top threes would be nice. We know we can do it.

"In the first race we would have led at the first mark but we overstood a bit and got their third. But we were running with the front guys pretty much all the way round.

"Nobody's going to find it easy this week. It's going to be a real fight.'' Meanwhile, the Island's other Olympic sailor, Sara Lane Wright continues to find the going difficult.

Her fifth and sixth races on Saturday produced a 21st and a 24th, but she's still to break into the top 20 in a fleet of 27 and is listed just three places off the bottom overall.

Like Bromby and White, Wright enjoyed a rest day yesterday and will have even more time today to figure out her problems with the Europe Dinghy Class not scheduled to resume racing until tomorrow.

Peter Bromby: in contention.

SAILING SLG