Olympic-bound sailor Paula Lewin has put her crew controversy behind her and is preparing to take on the world?s best in Athens.

Breaking her silence for the first time since splitting with former crew member Carola Cooper at the end of last year, the Yngling competitor has declared herself relieved and having fun now she has settled into a regulated full-time schedule with her revamped team.

?I don?t want to dwell on it. I just want to move forward. We?re going forward with the team that?s been together for the last two months ? Christine, Peta and I,? said Lewin, referring to her twin sister and Cooper?s replacement Christine Patton.

?We?re certainly getting in a lot of time on the water as we need to. We?ve started out with a new crew member so we?ve had a lot of catching up to do and we?ve still got a long way to go but it?s headed the right way.

?We?ve been training for the last two months so we?re excited to go racing which is coming up,? she said, alluding to two imminent regattas in Spain.

The trio will operate on a routine of training steadily from now until the Olympics in August with one week off every six weeks. They will also compete in one major event each month.

An additional benefit of her team-mates? full-time involvement, she explained, is that they have lightened her usual workload as they now assist with administrative matters and things like driving the boat to various locations.

?I don?t think we?ll get burnt out as quickly when it?s shared three ways.

?It?s nice to be in a team that can work together well with everyone taking on as much as the person next to them.?

Lewin, 32, feels the team?s biggest hurdle is the fact that as a new outfit they are yet to confront all the wide-ranging scenarios they could face at the Olympics.

?We haven?t had every situation thrown at us yet so it?s just trying to get our team comfortable enough so that when those things are thrown at us we make the right decisions and that?s not going to come for a while.

?We have to start racing and go through a few more experiences together.?

However, the skipper is confident they have enough time to master the gamut of situations which they may encounter.

As for the obvious tension that accompanies an Olympic year her solution is to break her quest down race by race.

?That?s how I?m going to handle it rather than thinking ?I have to be in this position in a regatta or at a certain point in the year?. I?m trying to not put too much pressure on myself.

?Last year we did better at the events at which we had the least pressure. I think I need to be pretty realistic and really the goal is ultimately to be hot in August,? she said, pointing out that?s all that counts in the end.

?We?re just going to try and be as level-headed as possible and keep moving in the right direction and not be on edge because then you don?t sail well.?

The Island?s leading female sailor is thankful not to be the top-ranked competitor in her class at the moment. That position, she concluded, would be ?very difficult? right now. Being the ones ?underneath, nipping at the heels? she reasoned is a much more comfortable place which allows the Bermudians to breathe easier and go about their business without too much fanfare.

Amid the intensity of her campaign Lewin has stopped to savour her fifth Female Athlete of the Year award presented a few weeks ago in her absence. The achievement, she noted, was a great and timely boost.

?I?m just as honoured as I was the first time. It?s a tremendous treat to be recognised like that and I have to thank my team-mates who are as much a part of it as I am. ?