Bad weather has forced US Coast Guard ship to have an extended stay in Bermuda ? but her captain isn?t complaining.

Commander Gregory Sanial told that the vessel made a deliberate detour to refuel here and carry out maintenance because it?s such a great place to visit.

?We came on Friday, January 13, for what was supposed to be a two-day stay and we have been here for five days because of the weather,? he said.

?The last couple of days the weather has just been awful in the seas around Bermuda. But I love Bermuda. Bermuda was the very first port visit I ever made and I was last here about three years ago on the training ship . I always want to come here.

?It?s normal for us to stop for two days. Coming to Bermuda is a bonus.? left Norfolk, Virginia, on a fisheries patrol mission on January 6 and Bermuda was the first stop on her journey. She should set sail from Front Street for New York City at about 11 a.m. today.

Despite the awful weather, the 100-strong crew, including 15 women, has been able to relax on the Island. ?We have a duty section in port which is about 25 people,? said Commander Sanial. ?Even though we are in Bermuda, which is not like Colombia or anywhere, we do still have positions to man.

?But the rest of the crew has been able to goof off and relax and let their hair down. We can?t control the weather but my crew has still been able to go to the beach and I played golf a couple of days ago.

?Bermuda has felt like a rest. Everyone that I have met and all the feedback I?m getting from my crew is just that Bermudians are very, very friendly.??s current 30-day deployment has so far proved far less eventful than previous missions.

Father-of-two Commander Sanial, 39, tells of a mission last April when the steel ship?s two 50-calibre machine guns were used to fire warning shots at drug runners off the coast of Colombia.

?We shot the machine gun to make splashes in the water,? he said. ?The drug smugglers were carrying two metric tons of cocaine.?

On that occasion, , which has a top speed of just under 20 knots (equivalent to about 23/24 miles an hour) was 100 miles away from where the drug-running vessel was spotted but managed to stop its path.

?Fortunately the boat was coming at us,? said Commander Sanial. ?We got within 1,000 yards and were able to use the machine guns. We sent a boarding team on and secured the people and eventually brought the people on board.

?They had thrown the drugs over the side so they could go faster. A Navy ship went back and found the drugs.

?It was very exciting. We have been fortunate. We?ve been involved in four drug cases in the last year-and-a-half. It?s always exciting to stop that but that one was very special and unique because of the machine guns.?

The 270ft long ship, which weighs 1,820 tons and has a beam of 38ft, usually spends her 185 days a year at sea involved in counter-drug missions in South America for the US Department of Homeland Security. But she is also regularly deployed on search-and-rescue missions, picks up migrants that might otherwise drown, tows disabled vessels to safety and is used to ensure fishing vessels are operating within the law, as on the current mission along the US east coast.

Commander Sanial said: ?We are very flexible and can adapt and respond to any mission. We can change what we are doing at the drop of a hat. If someone was sinking while we were here, we would have been out there, despite the weather.

?I think the variety of the missions is what attracts people to this life and the opportunity to make a difference. It is very hands-on and that?s why we are all in the Coast Guard.?

He said nothing untoward had been detected in the seas around Bermuda ? giving the crew, the majority of whom sleep in an area with at least 20 others in cramped three-high bunks, the chance for some real rest and relaxation. ?Bermuda is a great place to visit,? said the captain. ?It has helped ease the monotony of life onboard the ship.?