mountainous waves battered his stricken boat after the mast snapped.

Mr. Custance said, before the mast in his 30-foot yacht broke on Sunday, both he and fellow crewman, Bengt Liberg, were knocked out after the boom swung round viciously and smacked them on the head during high winds.

The pair arrived safely at Ordnance Island, St. George's, yesterday afternoon after being picked up by a passing freight tanker following four or five troubled days at sea.

The drama continued on board the rescue ship Crusader , a 615-foot Panamanian-registered vessel on Monday, as Mr. Custance, a diabetic from Surrey, England, became ill after running out of insulin.

A paramedic team from the 106 Rescue Wing of the Navy Air National Guard at Gabreski Air Base, New York -- the base immortalised in the Hollywood film The Perfect Storm -- made a dramatic rescue Monday evening.

Three medics parachuted into the ocean and made their way to the Crusader 300 miles east of Bermuda and gave Mr. Custance, 41, insulin for hypoglycemia.

The boat then sped toward Bermuda to ensure Mr. Custance was given hospital treatment. After transferring to a pilot boat, the two sailors arrived at St.

George's around 4 p.m yesterday.

Mr. Custance, who was on an insulin drip after losing his own insulin in the rescue, was taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Bengt is being looked after at the Mariners' Club in Hamilton.

The drama began shortly after Mr. Custance and Mr. Bengt, 26, from Holland, set sail last week from St. Marten in the Caribbean on Mr. Custance's 30-foot yacht Emma .

While trying to catch the trade winds to the Azores they hit three or four days of appalling weather with enormous waves, which battered the boat.

After losing contact with passing boats, both were knocked out separately as the boom swung suddenly.

Their mast snapped on Sunday afternoon, 375 miles east of Bermuda, and they were out of power and taking on water so they dropped anchor to minimise turbulence and issued mayday calls every 20 minutes. They were rescued on Monday by the passing Crusader .

Speaking exclusively to The Royal Gazette , Mr. Custance said yesterday: "It's been an absolute nightmare. We had bad weather and everything we tried to do on the boat went wrong.

"We were both knocked out and both nearly killed on two occasions. We had carried on for three or four days with seriously bad weather.

"We were being rattled about by force six to eight winds and massive waves.

We were climbing over the top of them and didn't know at times if we would get over the top, but we did.

"All we wanted to do was get the trade wind to the Azores, but we couldn't get it.

"We were trying to sort out problems with the tangled ropes and sheets, then like a shotgun the boom came over on really strong winds and hit me on the head.

"I thought I was a goner, but I lay there dazed. Bengt carried on, but about ten minutes later the same thing happened to him.'' Mr. Custance said the mast snapped at the deck on Sunday and they decided to cut it free and ditch it.

"Bengt dropped the sea anchor and I was freeing the rigging. We were just on auto pilot. Once the sea anchor was rigged, we made a spinnaker and made sure the boat was water-tight.

"Then we sat inside, had something to eat and drink and thought through what we were going to do.

" We activated the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon and transmitted it. Then we did three-hour shifts each, transmitting mayday calls.

"At night we were transmitting every 20 minutes and the Crusader eventually heard us.

"Bengt was worried, but I was assuring him that it wouldn't be a problem. We took a few waves broadside, which were like thunder, but we were comfortable inside.'' Mr. Custance said his 17-year-old son Karl, a keen sailor, was due to accompany him, but had a last minute premonition in St. Marten that he shouldn't sail.

"My son just had a bad feeling that he didn't want to take the trip.

"We were throwing his bags over the boat to go to the airport when we met Bengt, who said he wanted to get back to Europe.

"My son is doing a professional crewing course and is really keen on sailing, and for some reason he said `I'm not ready for it.' He must have had a premonition, it was really strange.'' Parajumper Louis Muscarella of 106 Rescue Wing said the rescue went smoothly.

"We jumped in at dusk from 3,500 feet then found the inflatable and inflated it. It was good, everything went smooth.

"The guys from the Crusader pulled in our equipment, and from hitting the water to getting to the patient was about 45 minutes.'' Tomorrow The Royal Gazette looks at the parajumper's high-seas rescue and training in more detail