It was not the Star-ry conclusion Bermudian skipper Peter Bromby so wished for but, given their horrendous start, he and his team were pleased to rank in the top ten at the Olympics.

Their effort gave the Island its best showing at these Summer Games.

Placing 11th in the final race of the 11-race series on Saturday in Athens, he and Lee White ended eighth out of 17 crews in the Star Class with 82 points.

Bromby?s pre-regatta prediction that 60 points would put one among the medals was not far off the mark as Brazil?s Torben Grael ? who led the standings from race three ? took the gold with a low of 42 points while Canadian Ross Macdonald won silver with 51.2 and Frenchman Xavier Rohart the bronze with 54.

In what was a regatta of two halves for the Bermudians they endured abysmal results in the first six races, finishing 17th, 16th, 8th, 11th, 12th and 10th, before reeling off impressive scores of 6th, 4th, 1st and 3rd in the next four races. Saturday?s finale was therefore a bit of a letdown as they had hoped to leave the Olympic Sailing Centre on a high.

Conditions for the final race were ?fluky?, said Bromby, adding they never recovered from a bad start and were unable to get back into contention.

Naturally crestfallen not to have been in the top three in his fourth Olympics, especially after huge victories at Spa and Kiel prior to arriving in Greece, the 40-year-old maintained the silver-lining attitude.

?Of course it?s disappointing but considering where we were at the start we?re really happy to get into the top ten. We kept battling and we won the second half of the regatta but unfortunately it wasn?t enough,? he noted, complimenting White and coach Martin Siese on their contributions to the campaign.

?Most people in Bermuda would be very pleased to be in the top eight in the Olympics.?

The Island?s top sailor said he was undecided on his sailing future but indicated things would be ?pretty quiet for the rest of the year?.

?We worked very hard to get to this point and to be honest I haven?t thought beyond this point.?

Asked if that meant he would not contest this year?s King Edward VII Gold Cup, he replied he was ?unsure?.

However, he is definitely not docking his boat for good.

?I can assure you this is not the end of us,? he stressed, adding it was important for them not to dwell on what happened at the Olympics but to be proud of their achievements throughout the last four years.

?We need to reflect over those years in which we won some major regattas. It?s not been too bad at all. This one got away from us which is pretty painful but it?s not been all bad.

?In fact, we have done quite well.?

White and Siese, too, sought to bring some perspective to the matter.

?Obviously you?re disappointed when you train hard for a long time and you come up short but you have to take it in stride,? said White. ?It could have gone the other way too. Lady luck just wasn?t on our side.

?This was a tough event in unusual conditions. There?s some satisfaction in finishing respectably but it?s certainly not a reflection of what?s been happening over the last four years. Sailing is a cruel sport and we know that,? said White.

?Look at the scores. Everybody had some big numbers on the table. On the bright side we earned the right to be here ? among the best in the world ? but things didn?t go according to the script we had written.?

Siese termed the outcome ?bitter-sweet?, applauding his colleagues for the manner in which they rallied towards the end, thus exhibiting their true potential among a fleet with eight former world champions.

?We knew we were capable of better and we showed it in the second half. Unfortunately the first six races hurt us,? he said.

Declaring ?I?m just as disappointed (as them) when they do poorly and just as excited when they do well?, the coach ? who had vied with White to crew for Bromby ? conceded that sometimes he wished he was in the boat and able to play a greater role.