Peter Bromby and crew Lee White are this week in Cascais on the western coast of Portugal, taking part in the European Championships.

After four races Bromby and White are in sixth place in the Star Class following finishes of 14th and 17th on Sunday and Monday and third and 26th in two races held yesterday.

Light winds prevented any action on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The 65-strong fleet contains many of the world's best, including top match racer Rod Davis of New Zealand, winner of last year's Omega Gold Cup in Bermuda, as well as prominent sailors such as Ross MacDonald of Canada, Denmark's Michael Hestbaeck and American Mark Reynolds.

Hestbaeck leads the current overall standings with 15 points followed by MacDonald (24) Australian Colin Beashel (42), Davis (43), Laurie Smith of England (54) and Bromby (61).

The top 14 positions are all occupied by different countries.

Bromby is so far satisfied with his showing although hopeful of moving further up the ladder.

"It's not all bad,'' said Bromby from his temporary residence in the coastal town just outside the capital of Lisbon.

"We'll probably slide down a bit with the drop race, so we need two good races (today) which should help.

"The course is pretty one-sided and you have to get to the right side as fast as you can, generally speaking. It's tough to pass and today we didn't get a great start which didn't help much.'' The six-race series is due to finish today, while Saturday is a reserve day.