Peter Bromby is back on the Island following a solid third place showing at the 2003 Spa Regatta in Medemblik, Holland late last month.

But not for long. Bermuda's 2004 Olympic hopeful heads off to Newport, Rhode Island, today where he will resume what he does best - racing.

Yesterday Bromby reflected upon his recent exploits in Holland where, along with crew Lee White, he competed in an elite fleet of the Star Class featuring many of those whom he will likely confront in Athens next year.

Current world Star Class champions Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell comfortably retained their title while Brazil's Torben Grael and Marcello Ferreira finished in second place ahead of Bromby and White.

"It was all going good. We had one light air day and at that point we were still in with a shot of winning and we had two bad races which basically took us out of contention to win. It was a bit unfortunate because when the breeze was on we were sailing quite well," explained Bromby.

"When you are sailing a series and you get that one light air day it's really a bullet that has to be dodged and we didn't dodge it too well and unfortunately that is the way it goes. But we came back in the end to finish strong. So we weren't too upset."

Asked how he managed to cope sailing against a star-studded racing fleet, Bromby replied: "We don't consider it as sailing amongst them. Instead we consider ourselves to be one of them." And rightfully so, as Bromby is presently ranked fifth in the world.

The Bermudian last competed at the Spa Regatta in 1995 where he placed sixth.

But rather than dwell at length on the past, the towering skipper has his sights firmly focused on the future.

"On the whole we are having a good year and it's coming along. We have a big summer ahead of us still but in terms of what we have in mind we aren't even half way there yet," said Bromby, who earned a bit of extra pocket change in Holland.

"It's all in preparation for next year's Olympics," he added. "I will be doing a weekend regatta in Newport this weekend and then I will be competing in the Stars later this month. But overall I'm pleased with the way things are going at the moment."