The start of this year?s Easter weekend was not a Good Friday for Peta Lewin at all ? but the Olympic-bound sailor is optimistic a bit of misfortune will not endanger her team?s medal quest at the Summer Games.

Lewin, who is part of her twin sister Paula Lewin?s Yngling crew, broke a finger on her right hand in an accidental collision with another boat as the Bermudians were in the final stages of the Princess Sofia Cup in Spain.

However, the prognosis is good for a relatively speedy recovery and, in the interim, the 32-year-old intends to contribute to her team from outside the boat.

Reflecting on what occurred on Good Friday, she told that on their third to last race, the Bermudians were ?coming into the leeward mark where there was a big pile-up (of boats) and I tried fending off (another boat) and my hand got caught between two boats?.

Initially, though acknowledging that putting her hand over the side of the boat had not been the smartest move, Lewin was not bothered. As they continued sailing, though, it was quickly evident something was drastically wrong.

?I realised I couldn?t wrap my hand around the sheet (the sail) and that I couldn?t feel my finger. That?s when I took my glove off and you could see it was black and blue and starting to swell up,? she recalled, speaking about the damage to her fourth finger (next to her little finger).

As her team abandoned the regatta, Lewin was rushed ashore via a coach boat and whisked to hospital where she had surgery following an X-ray to determine the injury?s severity.

What she suffered was ?an oblong-type break? across the bone going from the middle joint to the base of her finger. During surgery, a plate and five pins were drilled into the bone to stabilise the affected area.

The ?good news? is that, contrary to earlier reports, she is not wearing a cast but rather has the finger bandaged with a splint to keep it in place.

?A cast would mean my finger just sitting there for six or seven weeks. This way I can start physio(therapy) in a week.

?I can move all the other fingers and I can take off the splint three times a day. I?m not bending it (the injured finger) or anything like that yet cause it has to heal for another week or so and it?s got seven stitches,? she explained.

Saying her finger nor hand ever really hurt, Lewin said her concern was moreso about how badly she was injured and what it would mean in terms of sailing.

?It was the uncertainty that it was broken and then the uncertainty about how long it would take to heal and even once it?s healed how long it would take until I have full mobility again.

?That?s still a question but it?s not going to be months and months. It?s going to be a few weeks but I?ll know more once I start physio,? said the crew member whose stitches are due to be removed today.

Once her finger mends, she could have the pins and plate taken out in a month but she has already decided to delay that until after the Olympics so as not to halt the team?s progress any further.

?I can have full use of my finger with the plate in it so it?s not a problem to leave it in,? she reasoned.

In the meantime, as she recovers, arrangements have been made for her team-mates ? Paula and Christine Patton ? to continue their Olympic campaign with American Joan Touchette who regularly crews for top USA skipper Hannah Swett.

Touchette will cover for Lewin in the upcoming International Yngling Women?s World Championship in Santander, Spain, from May 7 to 15, while the recuperating sailor scrutinises her team?s performance from the coach boat.

?We?re trying to make everything as positive as possible and take this opportunity to learn from Joan.

?She has done a lot of testing with the US girls and she has some really good coaches so we?re hoping she will help us a lot, tell us about her experiences and what worked and what didn?t work for them.

?From my end, hopefully I can learn something from a different perspective which will benefit us.

?I?m going to try to make the best of this. Who knows, it might be a blessing in disguise,? said Lewin who wants to ensure her finger is fully healed before she resumes duties on the jib and foredeck.