just east of the Island on the weekend in a race to beat a century-old San Francisco to Boston sailing record.

Their trimaran Great American II came within four miles of the Island on Saturday afternoon. The first landmark they said they spotted was St.

David's Lighthouse.

Skipper Mr. Rich Wilson, in his log, said viewing Bermuda "was a welcome sight'', an AP wire report said.

The sighting marked only the second time Mr. Wilson and crewmate Mr. Bill Biewenga had seen land since rounding Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America more than a month ago.

A Harbour Radio spokesperson said there had apparently been no contact with the sailors.

"They were not intending to be that far east, but they came up from rounding Brazil and ran into some strong westerlies.'' said Mr. Lyon Osborn, programme manager for Ocean Challenge, the company promoting the voyage. "It just made sense to go east of Bermuda.'' Mr. Osborn said the 1990-built trimaran had striking paintings of eagles on its bows.

He noted the boat which holds the speed record, Northern Light , made the 15,000 mile voyage in 76 days and six hours in 1853.

That gives Mr. Wilson an April 13th deadline for arriving in Boston, which Mr.

Osborn was confident he would beat.

The pair set out in Great American II from San Francisco on January 27 and have had no major mishaps since.

However, Mr. Osborn said, the pair have encountered a great deal of rough weather and high seas in their travels. When they were off Bermuda winds hit 30 knots, he said.

"The boat's been fairly uncomfortable the past couple of days,'' he said.

"They get very fatigued. You're constantly holding yourself up and balancing.

You can't relax in those conditions.'' Great American II was yesterday about 400 miles from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

She was expected to arrive in Boston sometime today. That would be about a week ahead of the record pace set by the clipper ship Northern Light .