Willow Cuts wicketkeeper and long-time fisherman Robert (Bobby) Lambe might have made the most important `catch' of his life as he caught the attention of a passing US Coast Guard C-130 search and rescue aircraft while desperately clinging to a section of his dismantled boat New Nuts in Wednesday's rough seas.

Enduring some 20 chilling hours drifting alone in the frigid mid-Atlantic waters after a freak wave overturned his vessel at around 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday 80 miles northeast of Bermuda, Lambe would later recall on CNN: "The only thing I had to hang on to was that piece of wood - I kind of left my imprint into the piece of wood actually."

Tragically though, while Lambe was able to abandon ship, crewmates Alan Edness, 56, and Micah Battersbee, 29, were not so fortunate and are now believed to gone down with the 41-ft boat.

While Lambe was still recovering yesterday from mild hypothermia onboard the USS Comfort, his former Cuts skipper, Dexter Basden, was coming to terms with what he described as a "bitter-sweet" experience.

"It's comforting news to know that Bobby is coming home but on the other hand it is also sad because I used to see Battersbee (Micah) everyday down in Crawl. He used to sell us fish every Friday," said Basden, a former resident of Hamilton Parish.

The former Somerset Cup Match skipper said that he was "stunned" when news of his team-mate first reached the Island's shores.

"When they were missing I was stunned. I was just hoping that they would find them. But knowing Bobby and Battersbee I knew that they loved to fish and were experienced guys on the sea," he added.

"The weather switched up real quickly that evening (Tuesday) and to be on the water around that time must have been really difficult."

Basden described Lambe as a well-liked and respected member of the Cuts family.

"Bobby toured with us in Canada last June and we became closer friends and family members because we are a family at Cuts. He is a part of our family and so that evening sort us struck us hard," he said.

Basden said that Lambe was the sort of person who's always willing to go the extra mile.

"One thing about Bobby is that he is always eager to learn more when it comes to cricket. When he went on tour all he wanted to do was play cricket every day - even when we were off he still wanted to go into the nets," Basden recalled.

"He is always willing to put the extra effort in and I know Bobby is the same when it comes to fishing - he loves fishing."

Another local sports figure encountered misfortune while at sea in the mid-1980s when Southampton Rangers' midfielder Andre (Chunka) Outerbridge remained adrift in the Atlantic for several days before finally being plucked to safety.