The shores of Bermuda were a welcome sight for three sailors yesterday morning after experiencing a night of terror at sea Thursday that left one vowing never to set foot on a boat again.

Three American crew from the yacht Fluke out of Rhode Island arrived safely in Bermuda on a Russian tanker some 12 hours after they watched their boat sink like a stone in the mid-Atlantic, from a life raft just metres away.

The trio of sailors had set out from Gloucester Point, Virginia on Sunday afternoon intending to sail to Antigua and while away the winter months Caribbean-style.

But Fluke had to change course after a few days at sea due to mechanical problems, The Royal Gazette was told.

The crew intended to sail to Bermuda and make repairs before continuing south but ran into unrelated but far more serious problems Thursday evening. The yacht began taking on water before sinking fast some 140 miles west of Bermuda.

“We went below at around 6 p.m. to do a positioning,” Captain David Alves said. “We were motor sailing but at around 7 p.m. the power failed. When I checked it out there was water all over the battery.

“I told the crew we had better abandon ship.”

Mr. Alves had two other men on board - Roger Wallace and Thomas Stone. While the three men all had open ocean experience, nothing could have prepared them for the experience of watching their vessel swallowed by the sea.

“It would be impossible to mentally prepare for an experience like that,” the captain said.

Fluke had taken on about four feet of water in her hull when they contacted Bermuda Harbour Radio.

The crew began madly bailing in an attempt to find the leak.

They discovered that the source of the leak was a failed, through-hull fitting below the waterline.

“We realised we could not repair it and abandoned ship immediately,” Mr. Alves said.

The three men piled into a life raft, snapping pictures of the vessel Mr. Alves had owned for five years as it began its descent to the ocean floor.

“When I bought the life raft I said to the guys in the shop ‘I hope I never see this again',” Mr. Alves said. “You buy it but you definitely don't want to use it. I am very glad I had it though.” The shock of finding themselves at the mercy of the North Atlantic left the men terrified and nervous.

“Right now, I would never go on a boat again,” Mr. Alves said before taking a flight back to the United States. “In a few weeks, I might change my mind because you tend to only remember the good things.

“But I have been boating for over 20 years and now, I say never again.” The Fluke crew were lucky not to have been caught in the worst of the storms that have been rampaging about the North Atlantic brings winds and rains to the Island.

Conditions were fairly calm when the boat sank.

“It was not too bad. It was blowing between 15 and 20 knots,” Mr. Alves said. “But we knew there was a low coming and conditions were going to get very serious.”

Mr. Alves was in contact with Bermuda Harbour Radio by satellite phone from the time the leak was discovered.

On the life raft, the crew had the phone and a VHF Radio.

He praised the Harbour Radio officer on duty for calming talking the men through the situation. “We were in contact with Harbour Radio,” he said. “The officer, unfortunately I don't remember his name as it was such a stressful situation, was so helpful.

“He calmly and coolly laid out our options.” The US Coast Guard also dispatched a C-130 rescue aircraft to keep an eye on the crewman in their lifeboat as well.

“The plane came to us and stayed over us,” Mr. Alves said. “Everyone was so helpful.” About three hours later a Russian tanker, Genmar Star, which had left Delaware City sailing for Northern Europe, came to the aid of the stranded men.

“The captain was so nice,” Mr. Alves said. “He brought us to his cabin to drink vodka.

“He said a few vodkas would relax us and allow us to go off to sleep. And he was right. We had a few and they certainly did.”