They had planned to stop in Bermuda for one night for dinner. Five months later, Terry and Nancy Armitage are finally slipping out of the Island they have grown to love, having said a sad farewell to the friends they have made during their unexpected stay.

The retired Canadian couple were sailing to the Caribbean in November and were detouring to Bermuda to have dinner in St. George's when they lost their mast 135 miles northwest of the Island.

Lengthy delays in sorting out insurance and having a new mast made resulted in a five month stopover in the Old Town - and they have loved every minute.

This morning, the couple from Saint John, New Brunswick, set sail for Canada once more in the 42-foot yacht Jandy that they have called home for the past three years.

"We were coming for one night, for one good meal and as soon as the weather was good we would be off," said Mr. Armitage, a retired naval diver told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

"We have nothing but good things to say about Bermuda and we wouldn't have swapped this (delay) for anything."

During their enforced delay, they have spent Christmas in the home of a Bermudian family (the Outerbridges), had locals in their yacht for dinner, found help with Customs and the groceries, been taking sightseeing - and they were even given a hand finding a dentist.

Mrs. Armitage said: "As cruisers, we normally stay for three or four days, but this has allowed us to see a whole new side and people have really opened up their hearts and their homes to us.

"I was at the visitor centre saying goodbye today and that was very difficult, because it was like leaving really good friends.

"Everyone has done everything they possibly could to make us feel we belong. We are leaving with real mixed feelings.

"We are coming back again in November. You just can't make friends like that and not come back."

In a letter to The Royal Gazette, the couple thank Una McKittrick and Maureen Harrison at the visitor centre in St. George's, Mike and Ellie Jones, the Outerbridges, Bernie Outley, Don and Irene Corum, James and Tracy Perry, Mike Robello and Rebecca, Jon Corless and Todd Olson at Triangle Rigging, and Craig Faries in St. George's Boatyard.

"Five months later, we are preparing to leave your beautiful Island and we go with mixed feelings," they write.

"We count those we have met as friends and it will be difficult to leave everyone behind. You are the best reason to return to Bermuda.

"Our gratitude goes very deep for each and every person who has become part of our lives. St. George's, Bermuda, you have much to be proud of and you are appreciated."