has arrived in Bermuda after an epic hair-raising voyage.

Yesterday the crew of the Anne recounted their very wet, epic journey to Bermuda last week.

"No one's the same after what we've been through,'' said the boat's captain, owner, and builder, Reid Stowe, who explained that the boat capsized three times en-route to the Island, but righted itself each time.

Mr. Stowe 49, and his French-born wife Laurence, 28, were joined by four crew members for a three month journey aboard their 70 foot schooner which he hand built 20 years ago and named after his mother, Anne.

`The search for the Argonauts' as the journey has been dubbed will serve as a test and promotional voyage for the `Mars Ocean Odyssey', in which Mr. Stowe and his wife plan to spend 1,000 days at sea without resupplying or returning to land.

Before departing from their Chelsea Piers refuge in New York, the crew had to shovel more than two feet of snow off the deck of the boat, and once out of port, freezing gale-force winds and huge waves pummelled the mariners.

Mr. Stowe explained: "In recent years many more climbers have reached the top of Mount Everest than sailors who have shovelled feet of snow off their decks, broken the ice barrier with their motor and voyaged through stormy, freezing weather.

Sailors hit dry land after epic ocean journey "A mid-winter departure from New York City demands the ultimate of a sailor's skill and courage,'' he added and described it as "New York's City's ultimate extreme winter sport''.

After spending a week on the Island repairing, drying out, and restocking, the sailors are headed for Carnival in Trinidad.

And Mr. Stowe opened the offer of joining the crew to any interested Bermudians and said if they want to take a test sail down to the Islands, he was expecting to return to Bermuda sometime in April.

"Whoever sees themselves as a mythical voyager can come with us,'' he said.

Crew member Ryan Thompson, who had never sailed an ocean crossing before said of the journey to Bermuda: "It was by far one of the most intense experiences of my life, and it was a constant concern for survival.'' Indeed, the first night out, the life raft literally exploded off the bow.

"Getting woken at 4 a.m. and putting on your foul weather gear to go out on deck and pull in the foresail was unbelievable'' said Mr. Thompson, who joined his crewmates on deck to try and stow sails in the gales that accompanied the crew all the way to Bermuda.

Despite his many years of sailing, Mr. Stowe has never been to Bermuda, and he commented on the Island's beauty.

If you would like to join the crew or ask them a question, they can be e-mailed at: argonautsfor1000 y hotmail.com, or you can check them out on the web at: www.1000days.net.