Coming to the end of a long, exhausting year her eyes are even more firmly fixed on next summer's prize ? an Olympic medal, preferably gold!

Buoyed by encouragement from her new coach and others in the sailing fraternity, Bermuda's Paula Lewin believes now more than ever that she and her crew can do more than just make up numbers at the 2004 Olympics.

"Absolutely," she replied without hesitation when asked if dreams of returning from Athens with a shiny token of success dangling from her neck are realistic.

"It's all a matter now of planning it right and working hard at the right time. I can say that absolutely now because we have somebody working with us who is going to help us down that road.

"I do feel we can win the gold and our coach has helped us see that and see the path we need to take in order to get there. It's a matter of us executing it properly."

That's exactly the kind of inspiration Lewin and company ? her twin sister Peta and Carola Cooper ? needed as their year-long campaign in the Yngling ended with a whimper moreso than a bang.

Placing tenth in both the Pre-Olympic Regatta and the World Championships, ironically just as Ron Rosenberg signed on to coach them, was disappointing and a downward turn after the Bermudians had accumulated a consistent string of top-ten finishes.

"It was actually the first time we had a coach during the year. We started out with one but that didn't work out so most of the year we were looking for a new coach and we secured one just before those events and they were our worst results.

"But we took away a lot of positives and enthusiasm from those two events because we learnt so much.

"We came off the water feeling down but after we had our debriefings and talked about things we came away thinking 'Okay, here are things we can change'.

"Overall, we had a pretty good year. We started the season with fifths and sixths (places) and hovered around that mark.

"Talking to Olympic medallists, from the USA in particular, they said that in the year prior to Olympic Games they had similar results and that we're not far off the pace and we're in a good position to use this as a launching pad for next year," said Lewin, back home after extensive training and competing in Europe and the USA.

It's Rosenberg, though, who is really fuelling the girls' belief that they can be world-beaters and he knows a thing or two about that.

The American is a five-time world champion who was the team leader for the US sailing contingent at the 1992 Olympics and the Laser team leader at the 1996 Olympics. He has also worked with various America's Cup programmes.

"We have a fabulous coach and we're very lucky to be working with him. He is the top guy in the USA," noted Lewin.

His input is already having a welcome impact.

"This the year, because we were on our own, we made decisions some of which were not necessarily right. We ended up with not quite the right gear at some events.

"He was able to bring to our attention to these subtleties and a host of other issues that we need to work on. So, we're really revved up and excited to have his support," she added, noting that their lack of a coach had put them "a little behind the curve ball".

"Most countries who have teams ? USA, Britain et cetera ? they know how things need to be done and where and when you need to spend the money. It's our first time around and we were, to be honest, a bit lost on that.

"He has managed to get us back on track. We are still a little behind but having this expertise is bringing us right back into perspective."

Among the areas to which Rosenberg has drawn focus are sail selection, boat preparation and the need for adequate rest.

"It's important to find out what the (weather) conditions are like before you get to an event and make sure you have the right inventory or have the complete inventory so you can just select the correct sails.

"We were too one-sided. We had much too-flat sails," elaborated Lewin.

The coach has also stressed that his charges must get enough rest between competition and training.

"One of the first things Ron did was look at the schedule for next year. He wanted us to think about how many regattas we are doing, what regattas, how much training and how many days off.

"It was interesting because he said if you don't have at least ten days of rest, without even having to see a boat, it's not enough. It's going to be a balance of racing, training and resting.

"I didn't realise quite how much rest one needs in order to feel fresh when you come to an event but it's up there.

"That's something I didn't manage very well this year for myself personally," admitted Lewin, conceding that very often she plunged straight from driving into competition and back.

"Maybe that was part of (the reason for) our tough results towards the end as well ? that we didn't have that zip in our stride".

Not only should the trio be rejuvenated when they begin competing again but they will be doing so in a spanking new boat, outfitted with the latest trappings that will place them on a more even keel with their international rivals.

Reflecting on last week's King Edward VII Gold Cup and her triumphant defence of the Bermuda International Women's Match Racing Championship, Lewin said the experience was a "great confidence builder" and "good for our team spirit".

While her priority is the Olympics, the 32-year-old has signalled her intention to regain her former status as one of the premier women match racers once Athens is over.

"It's an area of sailing that we do right now which doesn't create a lot of pressure for us because it's not our big focus.

"So when we do this it's fun and we learn and we keep our skills sharp. It's a great mix of pleasure and learning.

"We did it before the Olympics Yngling campaign started. We match-raced on the world circuit for seven years and were ranked number one for two years in a row. That will certainly be our focus again after the Games."