changed the life of renowned "gonzo'' journalist Hunter S. Thompson, according to two books due to be released later this year.

Mr. Thompson landed in Bermuda on a yacht in 1960 with his wife and a friend on their way from the Virgin Islands to Europe.

But they failed to find a yacht or freighter to take them the rest of the way.

When a newspaper report publicised their plight they were thrown off the Island.

According to biographies of Mr. Thompson due to be published later this year, on his return to the US he began to seriously pursue journalism and later achieved fame as the top writer on Rolling Stone magazine, where his own warped form of drug-addled reporting became a cult favourite among members of the counter-culture in the 1960s and 1970s.

"He realised that he needed some more seasoning as a writer,'' said Mr. Peter Whitson, who is writing a biography which is being published by Hyperion Press.

A second biography, by Ms E. Jeane Carroll will say that the visit changed Mr.

Thompson's life. That book, from which Mr. Thompson has withdrawn his authorisation, is due to be published by E.P. Dutton early next year.

Mr. Whitson said that instead of going to Europe, Mr. Thompson instead went to South America as a freelance writer for the now defunct National Observer, a magazine owned by Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones.

He also did some freelancing for his home town paper, The Louisville Courier, Mr. Whitson said.

As the pre-eminent practitioner of gonzo journalism, Thompson later covered a slew of topics, including President Richard Nixon's 1972 election campaign, the Super Bowl, shark hunting in Mexico and Hell's Angels in California.

All were told through Mr. Thompson's own warped view of the world, aided by voluminous quantities of drugs and alcohol.

According to the July 10, 1960 article in The Royal Gazette , Mr. Thompson, his then-wife Sandy and friend Paul Semonin, a painter, stopped in Bermuda on their way to Europe on a 24-foot sloop.

The sloop went on to New York and the the trio thought they could pick up another yacht to take them on their way across the Atlantic.

" `We thought getting a ride to Europe would be a simple matter,' said Semonin, a painter. `Unfortunately, it was not.' " `It's a queer palce to be stranded,'' said Thompson, a 25-year-old freelance writer from Louisville.

"When I think of all the people back in the States who would really enjoy being stranded in Bemruda for a while, I realy can't take our plight very seriously.' '' After arriving in Bermuda the day before the first yachts in the Newport-Bermuda Race, they found none of them would take a woman on board, and those with empty berths were "looking for hot-shot sailors -- not vagrant artists and writers''.

"The outlook darkened when they found out that Europe-bound freighters rarely stop in Bermuda....'' the story said.

" `Why should they stop here,' one steamship agent explained. `There is nothing for them to pick up.' "Except, of course, a trio of refugees from the US.'' The story said the Thompsons had nearly decided to stay in Bemruda and look for work, while Semonin was considering leaving.

"The cost of living here would drive an artist crazy,'' he said.

Following the publication of the article, the Government, concerned they had no means to support themselves, ordered their departure.