A Bermuda fisherman who rescued the stricken yacht Magique from the middle of the Atlantic has said the crew were lucky to survive their high-seas ordeal.

Cragin Curtis towed the sailboat back to the Island after she was pounded by 35-foot storm waves and lost her rudder and main sail.

Her four-man Canadian crew ? on their way to the British Virgin Islands via Bermuda ? had already been hoisted to safety in a high-seas rescue mission by the US Coast Guard last week.

Mr. Curtis, on his boat Reel Addiction, located the abandoned Magique 120 miles north of Bermuda at 4 a.m. on Sunday.

It had drifted about 35 miles from the spot where the crew were dramatically evacuated.

"We found it on the radar," recalled Mr. Curtis, 39, who was accompanied on the salvage trip by three members of Magique's experiencedcrew. "We had a pretty good idea where it was and went to a couple of its last known positions."

But he said the trio were fortunate to have been able to sail back and find the ill-fated vessel, valued at $300,000.

"They were incredibly lucky to come out in one piece," he said last night, referring to the 24-hour period after their boat was badly damaged. "There are so many things that could have gone wrong."

The crew diced with death when, after losing their steering, they tried to get close enough alongside a passing tanker so they could disembark.

Hampered by the lack of a rudder, Magique's mast nearly smashed into the diverted tanker's gangplank.

And Mr. Curtis said this could have ended in tragedy by either tearing the mast out of the boat, sending it crashing down on a crew member, or by pushing the Magique under the 900-foot Berge Boston with disastrous consequences.

On returning to Bermuda, red paint was spotted on the bottom of Magique.

And Mr. Curtis said he guessed Magique probably hit a container that had flown off a freighter in the raging storm.

"It seems like it tore off the bottom of the boat a little bit and damaged the propeller and tore away the rudder."

That was the start of the crew's worries, although they were still able to cruise on autopilot before high winds claimed the main sail and left them facing a whole day of uncertainty in treacherous conditions.

The tow back at the weekend took 24 hours, and the fisherman said the crew "were relieved to see dry land". He added: "It was a good ending. "It was quite an experience for them and I'm just happy to have helped."

Mr. Curtis said the 44-foot vessel would be repaired at Dockyard.

Now the aim is to get it back on the high seas, heading to the Virgin Islands, in about a month.

Meanwhile, Mr. Curtis is enjoying reliving his second boat rescue in recent years. "I had a similar one five years ago 200 miles off Bermuda.

"The same thing happened. They lost their rudder and I also got them back safely."

*A picture showing a damaged boat was not the Magique, as stated in yesterday's Royal Gazette.