exclaimed: "It spiralled like a black snake into the sky.'' Twenty-year-old Arthur Grant reckoned the spout twisted and turned about 1,000 feet into the air.

"It was terrifying, but also spectacular. I just couldn't believe my eyes,'' he said.

Mr. Grant is a crew member on the two-masted Astrid , which sailed to Bermuda from the Caribbean earlier this month.

The 138-foot vessel was caught in the tornado drama late yesterday morning near the HMS Malabar base off Dockyard.

Some Bank of Bermuda employees had joined the crew for what was billed as a leisurely sail around the Island.

Chief Officer Topsy Toner said the thunderstorm struck shortly after the ship had left Hamilton.

The waters suddenly became choppy, and 50 knot winds roared into the vessel.

"We were hit by a squall. We headed back towards Hamilton with reduced sails.'' Chief Officer Toner said a buntline -- or rope -- snapped in the gusts, although the ship was otherwise unscathed.

One man was slightly injured as he was hit in the face while turning the ship's wheel.

"I think it was more self-inflicted than to do with the storm.'' Mr. Grant, an art college student from North Wales, England, was among those who witnessed the spout.

He said it suddenly swept upwards about 150 yards from the ship.

"It started with a water spray, which then whooshed up between 500 and 1,000 feet into the air.

"There were a lot of twists and turns. It spiralled like a black snake into the sky. That's the best way to describe it.'' Mr. Grant, who hopes to take a degree in photography, estimated the spout lasted between five and eight minutes.

Also witnesses of the spout were Boston couple Mr. Martin Kenney and his wife Jackie.

They had just left the Hamilton-Dockyard ferry at about 11.30 a.m. when they saw it.

"It just came out of nowhere, twisting into the air. I've never seen anything like it. I watched it with disbelief,'' said Mr. Kenney, an advertising director of a retail company.

Mr. Kenney reckoned he was just 100 yards from the spout.

"Luckily I had a camera with me and took several photos of it. It has certainly made for an exciting holiday!''