Today begins a journey to avenge the pain and anguish of four years ago.

It?s the moment Peter Bromby and Lee White have dreamt, thought and talked about since that bitter-sweet day in Sydney, Australia, when they endured what many sportspersons consider the worst of fates ? placing fourth in a final.

That gut-wrenching feeling of being so close to the podium ? and to a medal ? but in sobering reality yet so far from their goal has haunted and driven these Bermudian sailors since the last Olympics.

Now, their chance is here ? the long-awaited war for honours in the Star Class is at hand.

?It?s going great. We?re as prepared as we can be. We?ve spent four days on the water making sure the boat is perfect and it is now,? declared skipper Bromby yesterday, disclosing they have two ?good? masts, thus signalling the end to a nagging concern in their Athens build-up.

Having had the benefit of studying a week of racing and shifting patterns in various classes, the wily veteran said he was not surprised by the fluctuating scenarios at sea.

?The course and the results, with big swings, are exactly what we expected to see. It boils down to being patient. Yes, it?s worth it to take big chances late in a regatta but you need to be patient with tactics early on in a situation like this.?

It?s a question of exercising ?controlled aggression?, he explained, to ensure that, if for instance you?re in tenth place, you don?t end up 12th or worse and pay the price for having tried to move up to eighth.

Such risks, he agreed, are customary on other occasions but ?with the stakes being as high as they are it?s a bit different from normal?.

?You might gamble more normally,? said the Male Athlete of the Year who turns 40 on the penultimate day of racing ? next Thursday ? and who would love to celebrate that landmark in truly golden style.

Pointing out that ?all the guys here are capable of winning a medal?, the experienced skipper, who admitted a touch of nerves, would be pleased to end the first day with 12 points or less.

?I would consider that to be a great day and it would go a long way to calming our nerves. Looking at the other classes, 60 points puts you on the podium. So if you average ten to 12 points per the five days that places you right on the mark,? he reasoned.

Asked if he felt added pressure because his Yngling compatriots ? Paula and Peta Lewin and Christine Patton ? had their and the country?s medal ambitions crushed, he replied not at all but he hoped that, being in Greece after all, the gods saw fit to sanction a proportionate reversal of fortune for Bermuda.

?That?s a separate deal. They do what they?ve got to do and we do what we?ve got to do. All I can say is that, for Bermuda?s sake, I hope every bit of bad luck they had translates into good luck for us.?

Luck apart, the Island?s best medal prospects arrived in Athens with two of the most treasured prizes in their chest ? victories at Kiel and Spa Week ? and more importantly the psychological advantage of having those recent successes imprinted on their rivals? memories.

Still, White ? Bromby?s choice of crew over Martin Siese ? is not getting carried away by that.

?Yes, it?s very good psychologically but, on any given day, positions can rotate among the top guys quite quickly. There are too many good guys here to say we have that big an edge.

?The talent pool is very deep and we will need a few lucky breaks ? as will everyone else ? if we are going to win.?

The 46-year-old noted it would be a ?long week which, looking at the other results, is going to be very tricky? given what he termed ?very interesting conditions?.

Like his skipper, he is eager to lock horns with their international rivals, confident the outcome to be different from that Down Under.

?I?m very excited to have another chance. We have trained long and hard enough and have sat around watching everyone else race. Now it?s time to get on with the show.?

Meanwhile, Lewin?s miserable Olympics end today with the final of 11 races in the Yngling class. The Bermudians are last out of 16 with 104 points and would no doubt want to put a few places between them and the cellar position if possible on their last outing in the waters off Athens.