will not be making a scheduled stop in Bermuda on her return.

The 234-foot Northern Ranger , which began her "ecotour'' in December by passing through four terrible storms with winds up to 85 knots between St.

John's, Newfoundland and Bermuda, suffered further as she headed south for a series of crossings between Cape Horn and Antarctica.

Three passengers and three crew members who decided they had seen enough and flew home when the ship reached Penno's Wharf, may have made a wise decision.

What was described as a nightmare voyage had just begun.

The Northern Ranger promptly hit another storm when she left Bermuda for the Bahamas. Hopelessly behind schedule, she skipped ports in an effort to catch up.

But by Christmas, Mr. Sam Blyth, the president of the company which organised the trip, had been hanged in effigy by furious passengers, according to a report in Toronto's Globe and Mail.

She was again to stop in Bermuda this month on her way back to Newfoundland, but this port was also cancelled, according to a spokesman for Meyer Agencies Ltd.

The ship was so far behind schedule that she discharged her remaining passengers in Miami last week and sailed directly home, he said.