land and facing the fact they lost nearly all they own and what has been their home for five years.

Thanks to quick action by the passing Cypriot-registered bulk carrier Maria Satinas , Mr. and Mrs. David Rhind and their two-year-old son Sean are none the worse from their ordeal.

But their losses are beginning to sink in, Mr. Rhind told the The Royal Gazette from his parents home in Novia Scotia, Canada last night.

Although 36-foot Mystic Lady was insured, Mr. Rhind said they probably won't get a penny from the company because they got off the boat before it actually sank and no one saw it go down.

And in the rush to get his family to safety, Mr. Rhind said all he had time to grab and take with him was a couple of photograph albums, some clothes and copies of his original recordings.

The musician's guitar, stereo and portable sound studio went to the bottom of the ocean, which at that point was 5,000 metres deep. Christmas and birthday presents from his wife's mother Mrs. Joanne McPhee were also lost.

"We couldn't expect the ship that was saving us to carry our luggage as well,'' Mr. Rhind said.

Mr. Rhind was fast asleep when his wife yelled out at about 9.30 p.m. that something had smashed a hole in the hull and water was gushing in.

They were about 200 miles southwest of Bermuda heading for the Bahamas.

He said he knew immediately they were in trouble and had to get off the boat.

He turned on his VHF radio and fortunately made contact with the Maria Satinas in seconds. "It helped a lot knowing it was on the way,'' he said.

He said he did have a life raft, water maker and enough other items to be able to drift at sea for at least 24 hours. But luckily the Maria Satinas arrived within an hour and the couple rode up alongside and boarded via a ladder.

Mystic Lady was more than half full of water when they left it.

"I have never seen Susan climb a ladder so fast,'' Mr. Rhind said. "She was probably thinking of getting our son to safety as quickly as possible.'' She was carrying Sean in a sling around her neck.

Once aboard the ship, Mr. Rhind said the crew were friendly and very accommodating to them.

He said they even wanted to take up a collection of money to help them get back on their feet. But Mr. Rhind and his wife had cash and credit cards and somewhere to go upon arriving at Three Rivers, Quebec.

After a 12-hour drive starting Saturday night, they reached his parents home in Novia Scotia late last night. They are planning to stay there for a while.

Mr. Rhind said he and his wife want to come back to Bermuda as soon as they recoup their losses.

And he said he would like to buy another yacht as soon as he can afford to.

Mr. Rhind said he did not know for sure what hit them, but his "best guess'' was a drifting container which had fallen off a cargo ship in rough weather.

He said he immediately looked over the side of the cutter with a flashlight, but saw nothing that could have made the gash. He added the seas were not rough.

"She (Mystic Lady) had been our home for more than four and half years,'' Mr.

Rhind noted. "I think it is just beginning to sink in.'' Answering concerns from his son's grandmother Mrs. McPhee about taking the toddler out to sea at such a young age, Mr. Rhind said he understood, but it was the life he and his wife had chosen.