Ambitious plans have been launched for a series of land monuments commemorating the Middle Passage of the African slave trade.

And one Bermudian woman who witnessed the lowering of a sculpture 400 kilometres off the North American coast described a sea voyage fraught with haunting overtones when their replica slave ship Young America broke down and was blown off course.

But Zakyyah Taalib Bey, who attended the July 6 ceremony, said she would do it all over again.

The ocean crossing of the slaves -- the middle passage -- saw untold numbers die enroute to the US. More died shortly after making landfall, a result of contracting diseases in cramped conditions.

"The inconveniences on board the ship gave us a minute sampling of what our ancestors were forced to endure as they crossed the middle passage,'' she said.

"Millions survived, millions did not,'' said Ms Taalib Bey, formerly known as Cynthia Burrows, the daughter of Government MP Reginald Burrows.

About 18 people were on hand when the 17-foot wide, 12-foot tall monument was released by the two-masted Young America on July 6, in an event which garnered international attention.

The Young America had been contracted by Middle Passage organisers for the occasion but suffered a series of mechanical problems upon trying to leave the symbolic watery memorial.

A US Coast Guard helicopter and cutter were dispatched to evacuate a diabetic patient and tow the stricken ship back to New Jersey.

The ship had left New York on July 4 but once it began its return trip, trouble started.

Middle Passage project founder Wayne James reported: "one by one the mechanical devices on board the ship began to malfunction or simply not function at all.'' He added: "By nightfall July 7, the ship had drifted back to the vicinity of the monument site, its engine expended, rudder broken, and its crew manually removing water from the engine room.

"Half the ship's water supply was contaminated and desalination equipment failed leading to shower and toilet use (being) terminated.'' For three more days Young America would point her bow for New York only to be "mysteriously blown back into the vicinity of the monument'' by the following morning.

Both crew and passengers -- chosen at random to symbolise the arbitrariness of being captured in Africa -- spoke of hearing voices and inexplicable sounds.

And the ship's cook told organisers she had been visited on three occasions by a turbaned black woman and heard conversations in an empty hallway.

"My initial involvement with the project was purely for financial gain,'' Captain Scott Chew said. "After experiencing what I experienced on board this ship over the past several days, I know there was a bigger purpose for my being here.'' By Saturday July 10 the Coast Guard ship had begun to tow the ship in, arriving in Atlantic City on July 12.

Meanwhile, organisers have announced that six cities on four continents and the Caribbean archipelago will be chosen to permanently display a replica of the Middle Passage monument sunk into the ocean that day.

One will be erected each year, starting in North America in 2000, South America in 2001, the Caribbean in 2002, Europe in 2003, Central America in 2004, and in Africa in 2005.

Mr. James said: "Our goal is to create a monument which will serve as a symbolic pilgrimage, physically, culturally, and spiritually back to Africa.'' "The terrestrial monuments will encourage discourse, education, understanding, and healing from the atrocities of the slave trade,'' he added.

Speaking from her home in New York, Ms Taalib Bey said the ordeal provided "clear lessons'' for people to learn, adding: "Those who have respect for the ancestors feel they were speaking to us.

"There isn't a word that can describe the feeling of watching the monument being put down,'' she added. "I will most definitely participate in any Middle Passage event in the future.'' Ms Taalib Bey was the host of the ceremony on July 3rd at which dozens of religious ministers -- from Buddhist monks to Voodoo priestesses to Christian ministers -- took part.

Deep-sea memorial: The Middle Passage monument -- unveiled earlier this month in New York City -- was lowered into the water 400 kilometres out to sea on July 6.