Bermuda since Tuesday.

But fears were growing for the safety of the two brothers and a friend as the weather continued to deteriorate last night.

The missing trio are Randy Outerbridge, 30, and Geoffrey Outerbridge, 25, both of Warwick and 27-year-old George Minks of Pembroke. They were fishing on board the boat Simply Red .

The 20 foot, red and white Cutty Cabin, which had been fitted with a 200 horsepower motor, has not been seen since they set off, despite an extensive search by Bermudian and US boats and aircraft.

Local fishermen were in contact with the men on Tuesday, but did not sight them. They believe that the position they were reporting was wrong.

A US Coast Guard C130 Hercules, able to fly low and slow over the water, flew in to help at first light today.

Marine Police were having problems putting out to sea yesterday as winds increased and seas were reported to be over 18 feet high.

Helicopter search teams were also reported to have had problems spotting any craft because of the rough seas.

The three men are believed to have set out from Riddell's Bay in Warwick during the afternoon on a fishing trip, heading for Challenger Banks.

At that time there had been no official warning of imminent problems although the weather forecast had been for strong winds and high seas that evening.

US Navy forecaster Petty Officer Mark Vandever said: "We put out information at 5 p.m. on Tuesday telling people to expect gales.

"But we only issued a small craft warning when the winds increased around 5.30 a.m. yesterday. A gale warning was in force between 8 p.m. last night and 1 a.m. today. "Last night we had forecast winds at speeds of between 35-45 knots and seas between 12-18 feet high. We have had reports confirming those conditions.'' But it seems that the three men were sailing before the bad weather conditions started.

Family members reported them missing when they failed to return to the mooring at Riddell's Bay on Tuesday night.

The search began involving a US Navy helicopter and other vessels, belonging to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks, scouring an area 650 square miles between Bermuda and around Argus Bank where the men were believed to have been when the last radio message was made.

The search is being co-ordinated by Harbour Radio in St. George's but last night they reported no progress. Much of the search had been postponed until daylight today.

Police were also carrying out inquiries at homes of friends and relatives of the three men and were also searching around the coast.

Families of the three men were desperately waiting for news and said they could not to make any comment on the situation. Some close family members had not been informed last night.

Other boatmen at Riddell's Bay Marina could not give any information about the three men yesterday.

SEA SEARCH -- The Marine and Ports search and rescue boat, St. David , moves from St. David's to Dockyard on its way to help in the hunt for the missing crew of Simply Red .