FOUR-TIME Olympic sailor Peter Bromby failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics at the Star World Championships in Portugal which ended this week.But Bromby is not that concerned as he believes he has a very good chance of securing a spot for the Games in Beijing when the 2008 Worlds are staged in Miami, Florida.

Eleven Olympic spots were handed out after the Worlds this week and four more will be granted at next year’s Worlds.

Bromby, who was sailing with crewman Bill McNiven in Portugal, said: “We are not that concerned actually. If you look closely at the results you would have seen that we were the 15th country (at this year’s Worlds) and if they had selected all 15 spots for Beijing we would have had one. It was not that alarming.”

And the fact that the 2008 Worlds will be staged in Miami has made Bromby feel confident. “We are going to have to qualify for the Worlds next year in Miami but Miami is a favourite hunting ground for us.”

Over the years Bromby has done exceptionally well at top regattas staged off Miami and knows the water and winds well.

As for the conditions off the coast of Cascais, Portugal over the past couple of weeks, Bromby said: “The winds were up and down. It was not quite as bad as I thought they might be. They were not the very strong winds I imagined there would be there — except for the last day of course.”

The last day’s racing was cancelled because of the wind.

The problem was the change in velocity and direction of the wind on the course.

“It was unique in terms of velocity and wind direction. It would change in the race — two knots to 18 knots and back — twice in the same race. The direction would change as well. It made for some big ups and downs. Everybody’s results — except for the guy that won it — reflected those conditions.”

Winning this year’s Worlds were the Brazilian team of Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada.

The 11 countries which qualified for the Olympics were Brazil, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Italy, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Portugal, United States and Ireland.

Bromby had finishes of 16, 20, 9, 9, 24, 8, 10, 25 and 9.

Although Bromby and McNiven certainly have the 2008 Worlds in their sights, it remains to be seen how many other top regattas they will be able to attend.

Asked about the future, he said: “We have a lot of balls up in the air right now. We certainly have a plan and we are hoping to secure a sponsor. Right now the monetary point of view decides where we go.

“We can’t commit to too much more at this point. This event (in Portugal) probably cost $25,000 for us to attend.”

Bromby and McNiven have been away from Bermuda for six weeks — first to pick up their Star boat in Holland and then to compete in Kiel Race Week in Germany which is traditionally staged before the Worlds or European Championships.