the Olympic Star Class, Bermuda's medal-chasing pair Peter Bromby and Lee White greeted the decision with a mere shrug of the shoulders.

If nerves were playing a part in this rollercoaster ride of a regatta, they weren't showing.

Bromby and White, currently tied for second in the silver medal position with Australia's 1996 bronze medallists Colin Beashel and David Giles, both munched on sandwiches and chatted with their coaches as crews around them debated the wisdom of the race committee.

After a delay of almost three hours, the day's races were finally called off because of unpredictable wind conditions in Sydney Harbour.

While a light northerly breeze was blowing across the course, a band of thunderstorms in the Sydney area was expected to produce unstable winds which, according to one official, would have turned racing into a lottery.

With so much at stake, the committee decided it would be unfair to race in such conditions, although late in the afternoon a decision was made to allow the women's 470 class to go ahead.

Some of the Star class skippers believed they also should have been given the green light, but White, for one, had no problem accepting the committee's ruling. "It's probably a good decision if the winds are that fluky,'' said the 43-year-old veteran. "It's better to have a fair race course than leave it to the roll of a dice.

"I think we would probably prefer steady conditions at this point. We seem to be doing well so far in those kind of conditions.

"But as you can see, there's mixed opinion. Some of the skippers want to go out. They're having a little debate on what should have been done.

"However, it's probably too late now anyway. They have a time constraint, the fleet has to be in by five o'clock. And there's no way as we're on the furthest course out that we could race and get back by that time. I think time was a decider in the end.'' Oddly enough, among those hoping to race were Brazilians Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira, currently in the gold medal position on 13 points, seven less than Bermuda and Australia.

A postponement would appear to help their chances of defending the title they won in Atlanta four years ago as a second weather delay would probably mean that not all 11 races would be able to be sailed and competitors would then have to drop only one result rather than two.

However, the forecast looks better for rescheduled races seven and eight today and tomorrow which had originally been set aside as a rest day but will now be used for races nine and 10. The final race is still scheduled for Saturday with the medal ceremony planned that evening on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Whether Bermuda's pair will be a part of those historic celebrations remains to be seen, and certainly neither Bromby nor White were showing signs of over-confidence.

"We're just treating it as one race at a time,'' added White. "Basically we're only 60 percent through this regatta, a lot can still happen. Guys down the ladder can climb up very quickly and we can slide down just as quickly also.

"Every race is important, it has been since day one. They just seem more important the more you get into the regatta and into contention.

"It'll be nice to be able to get on with it tomorrow. But we've been very relaxed the whole two-and-a-half weeks we've been here. Our coaches have been very good for us in that department, keeping our minds occupied.'' SAILING SLG