Capsizing in the middle of the Atlantic is bad enough.

But spare a thought for Tim Kent who gave up his job, borrowed $50,000 from his ex-wife and sunk every thing he owned to buy Everest Horizontal which capsized 110 miles north west of Bermuda on Friday.

Fellow Around Alone sailor Alan Parris is ready to co-ordinate the search effort from Bermuda for Mr. Kent if there's an early sighting from sailors today in the Marion to Bermuda race while local boat The Wildcat might also speed out to help the search.

Mr. Paris is one of three other Around Alone sailors helping out.

"It's a community, there's no question about it," said the Bermudian.

"You don't go through something like this without having a strong sense of belonging with your fellow sailors.

"He has absolutely no money. All the money he has in the world is tied up in that boat.

"It will be gutted. There will be nothing left inside."

And its finders keepers if some one else decides to salvage the boat which is now a hazard for Marion to Bermuda racers.

Mr. Kent, 50, will set off from Newport today with Bruce Schwab, who also took part in the recent around the world race, to hunt for the uninsured 50-foot vessel which had been worth more than $300,000 but is now worth half that.

Fellow solo sailor Brad Van Liew is helping plot the weather to give clues as to where the unsinkable boat has drifted and he may organise a flight to spot it.

But if Mr. Kent is ruing his financial loses he was lucky to escape with his life after the boat upturned after the 3.5 ton keel stabilising bulb sheered off.

"He was lucky it didn't happen anywhere else. He had been around Cape Horn," said Mr. Paris.

Mr. Kent told the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal: "I feel very lucky to be alive right now. This is pretty unusual but it does happen and when I have heard of it, there were usually fatalities."

The 50-year-old sailor, along with friend Rick McKenna, was trapped underneath the boat in darkness when it capsized and had to swim out while avoiding getting tangled in ropes and lines.

"One of the best moments of my life was when I popped out of the other end of the boat and soon after Rick was there," he told the American paper.

The pair fired off flares and were picked up just before nightfall by the Nordic Empress.