TWO Bermudian men had a lucky escape when they were rescued at sea in fading light 30 miles off the Florida coast after their boat sank.

George Lambert, 51, and Tristan Codrington, 20, were hoisted into US Air Force H-60 rescue helicopters from a vessel which had picked them up late on Wednesday afternoon after they had spent more than one-and-a-half hours in the Atlantic Ocean.

The two men were taken to Merrit Island Airport and transferred to Holmes Regional Hospital. They were released in good condition.

Mr. Lambert had left Bermuda nearly five months ago to join his girlfriend Brenda Adams in St. Vincent. The couple are planning to marry soon, according to members of Mr. Lambert's family in Bermuda.

A US Coast Guard official said the men owed much to the crew of the Capt. Billy Jr., who spotted the men and hauled them aboard around 30 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral as darkness was about to close in.

Mr. Lambert and Mr. Codrington reported having engine trouble at 3.30 p.m. Bermuda time on Wednesday. About 30 minutes later they told Coast Guards their boat had developed a small leak around the propeller shaft. By 4.20 p.m., two-thirds of the engine room was full of water. Twenty minutes later, the Doozy went down and communications were lost.

A co-ordinated rescue effort involving the Coast Guard and the Air Force was launched.

Two Coast Guard aircraft from Clearwater and a third from Miami set out on the search, as well as two Air Force rescue helicopters from Cape Canaveral.

A notice to mariners was also broadcast by rescue co-ordinators, which was picked up by the crew of the Capt. Billy Jr., who spotted the two men at 6.20 p.m. Bermuda time and alerted the Coast Guard.

Petty Officer Dana Warr, of the US Seventh Coast Guard District, said yesterday: "It was very fortunate for the two men that the crew of the Capt Billy Jr. acted like a Good Samaritan, because it was 5.30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and it was getting dark.

"There was only something like half an hour to 45 minutes of daylight search time left before it would have gotten dark.

"We would have gone on searching through the night, but the longer a search takes, the less chance there is of people being found alive."

He added that both men had been wearing life jackets when rescued and were in good health.

Mr. Lambert's mother Barbara Lambert was shocked to hear her son had been involved in the marine drama.

She said: "He left to go down to the Caribbean in July this year. He's a boatman working around the islands."

Mr. Lambert's 28-year-old son Akil, who works for Marine & Ports on the tug boats at Dockyard, was also shocked to hear the news.

"I last spoke to him about two months ago and I'm not quite sure what he's doing now," said Akil Lambert.

"He spends a lot of time down in the islands because he's got a girlfriend and a son in St. Vincent."

Mr. Lambert's ex-wife Johnett Smith said he had left for the Caribbean with the intention of getting married.

We spoke to a cousin of Mr. Codrington, but he declined to comment.