Sara Lane Wright returned from Europe this week feeling tired, under-nourished and a little wiser as she prepares for her Olympic debut in September.

Wright, Bermuda's entrant in the Europe dinghy class in Sydney, finished 48th in a fleet of 116 in the European Championships in Murcia, Spain, last weekend but said she felt somewhat under-strength after a month-long period of intensive practice and competition overseas.

In the previous week, Wright had sailed in a pre-European Championships regatta, also in Murcia, and fared much more impressively, placing 35th out of 170.

Wright's disappointment with her 48th place in the Europeans was tempered by her qualification for the gold fleet after the round-robin phase.

She felt that her lack of strength because of a poor diet in Spain had hampered her performance.

"At first I was living on yoghurt and cheese to get my protein, as all the vegetables you could get in restaurants were covered in butter and all the meat seemed to be fried and that would not have been good for me,'' said the 31-year-old.

"Proteins are needed for muscle repair and if you don't get enough of them, it can take away from your strength and leave you feeling tired. By the end of the two weeks of regattas, I felt under-strength and my performance was down.'' Nevertheless, Wright believed the regatta had been beneficial.

"The winds were very shifty, between five and 20 knots and there was no pattern at all to them,'' said Wright. "That made it very challenging and it meant the regatta was very tactical and competitive.'' Before arriving in Spain, Wright had competed in Kiel, Germany, where she experimented with a new, lightweight and highly sensitive sail and finished 61st out of 114 boats.

Experimentation has been a theme of Wright's sailing in Europe, as she works on finding the best possible equipment to use in the Olympics.

"In the Europeans I used a new mast which is a bit softer and has a more even curve than I've been used to,'' said Wright. "Talking to some of the other girls on the circuit, they get 10 masts at a time and experiment to find which is best for them.

"I have to keep trying to find out what I need to get the fastest boat speed I can.'' Wright has completed her first full year of racing the single-handed, 90-lb Europe dinghy, during which she has put her career on hold to focus on her Olympic dream.

She will fly out Down Under in good time, departing on August 7, to give herself time to gauge the course and conditions in Sydney.

And she will have useful company for her pre-Games training, including Courtney Becker-Day, her American rival in Sydney, who won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics, and her husband and coach Jim Day, as well as another American Linda Wennerstrom.

Wright has got to know Becker-Day well and she added: "Courtney is 34 and mature and having someone like her around will be a great help. I'm hoping she will be my coach for my next campaign after Sydney.'' Olympic preparation: Bermuda sailor Sara Lane Wright returned this week from Spain following a finish of 48th in the European Championships -- all part of her build-up to the Sydney Olympics.