Four crew onboard a drifting and damaged yacht 138 miles from Bermuda are attempting to ride out an Atlantic gale battering them with 20ft waves and near storm-force winds.

A tanker that diverted between Boston and Trinidad to help the stranded crew had to abandon a rescue attempt because of the dangerous sea conditions and likelihood of the 44ft yacht smashing against the side of the 94,000 ton liquid natural gas tanker.

Renewed calls were being made last night to any vessels within 100 miles of the stricken yacht to assist, but as of late on Wednesday the only vessels in the vicinity were tankers too large to get close to the smaller Canadian boat.

A potential helicopter rescue was also under review at Norfolk, Virginia, while Bermuda?s tug boats were on standby although they would take an estimated 15 hours to reach the scene.

The 900ft-long Norwegian tanker , which had hoped to use a crane to lift the crew from the after it lost its rudder 135 miles Northwest of Bermuda, was standing by on the scene as a precaution in case the situation worsened.

The s crew were reported to be attempting to fashion a sea anchor to stabilise their position in the fierce seas.

The Canadian yacht was sailing between St. John, New Brunswick, and Bermuda when its rudder broke off.

The mid-ocean drama came as Bermuda faced a night of sustained gale-strength winds, with expected storm force gusts around midnight and a possibility of the Causeway being closed during the hours of darkness as wind speeds peaked.

A rapidly deepening low pressure system to the west of the Island brought sustained gale-force winds of between 34 to 45 knots through the night and gusts near 50 knots.

Earlier on Wednesday evening Bermuda Police Service spokesman Dwayne Caines said Police were working in conjunction with the Department of Works and Engineering and Bermuda Weather Service to monitor the Causeway with a view to whether or not it might need to be closed due to the strengthening winds.

He said: ?If the sustained winds go over 35 knots they will be making decisions.?

Bermuda Weather Service meteorologist Kimberley Zuill said winds were expected to peak in the early hours of this morning and continuous rain would be replaced by showers and thunderstorms during much of Thursday as the weather system moved to the Island?s north. By 8 a.m. today the sustained wind speeds were expected to have weakened to between 20 and 30 knots and would continue to fall during the day.

As the Island took a battering last night a 52ft boat called broke free of its mooring in St. George?s harbour. Efforts were being made to keep the house boat off the rocks during the high winds.

A number of ships, including the Cable Innovator, also took shelter off Bermuda?s north shore overnight to escape the worst of the winds.