Three mariners survived tornadoes and 20 foot swells after spending ten hours out at sea during the worst of Hurricane Fabian.

Jay Simmons' 46 foot Sea Ray Santafold broke its moorings at Spanish Point at noon yesterday but the 44-year-old wasn't prepared to let his two-month old $200,000 boat go without a struggle.

He enlisted the help of older brother Vaughan, 46, and Brendan Robinson, 48, to try to save the vessel which they reached by punt, although Mr. Robinson found himself swept overboard in the increasingly choppy seas.

They cut the mooring and moved away from the reefs where they dropped a mud anchor and hoped for the best.

"We couldn't see nothing for the wind, rain and sand," said Mr. Robinson, a former prison officer and now a fisherman.

"We just tried to stay on top of this thing. But it was tough, I think we saw two or three tornadoes come past us. That's the sort of thing you never want to see again - ever.

"My life flashed before my eyes a few times. Being in that water was not a nice thing. I don't think I have ever seen anything like this and I don't think I will again. We are lucky to be alive.

"There we were just outside in the worst place. There were many times we didn't think we were going to make it."

The boat had taken on more than a foot of water and the three intrepid sailors were having to share a diving mask to help them work outside in the hurricane-force winds and dangerous spray.

Waves were washing over the vessel as they struggled to control it, although they were spared the fate of other boats.

Vaughan Simmons said he saw at least five charter boats bobbing upside down in the waters just off the Island with other smaller boats being smashed against reefs.

They were in contact with Harbour Radio who attempted to assist them until they went off air - leaving the men alone in the dark of the sea with only imaginative compass work to save them.

"For some reason I was never afraid," said Vaughan," who described Santafold as like a "toy boat" as it was tossed about by the raging waters.

"We just tried to sit lee of rocks to try and protect ourselves, but there wasn't much we could do, we just had to sit it out.

"I was just praying that we would make it through. That is one hell of a boat and he (Jay) is one hell of a pilot. To get us back in - that is almost a miracle. It was pretty hairy at times but we got back."

It was at 10 p.m. that the crew eventually limped in to Hamilton harbour, next to the ferry terminal, having suffered only minimal damage.