Robert (Bobby) Lambe knows he has a long road ahead of him when he arrives back on the Island tonight.

He believes he cannot fully come to terms with the tragedy that took the lives of his two friends and crewmen Alan Edness and Micah Battersbee until he is home with his family, and able to explain to theirs.

However, the 35-year-old skipper, who was known as Papa Lambe to his friend Mr. Battersbee, said he also felt apprehensive about his long-awaited return to the Island.

"I don't know what kind of reception I'm going to get when I get back home,"said Mr. Lambe last night.

"I'm worried about meeting their families. I don't know how they will accept me.

"I just want to spend some time with my parents, and spend some time with the families of Alan and Micah. It's important that I answer their questions and explain to them what happened. I will just tell them the truth."

Mr. Lambe said he had been following what had been reported in the newspapers during the last ten days and said reports that his 40 foot boat was not up to the job at hand were false. And he said none of the three fishermen were wearing life jackets because they were inside the sealed cabin and saw no reason. He said it would be impossible to know whether life jackets would have helped any of their situations.

"I know that a lot of people, besides the families, are going to want to talk to me, such as Marine and Ports and Harbour Radio,"added Mr. Lambe.

"I need to deal with it. I haven't been able to deal with the situation properly for the last week or so. I'm not dreading it; it is something that needs to be done.

"I think when I arrive back home, that is when I will begin to handle and accept what has happened. I will grieve properly."

Mr. Lambe and his two crewmen went out looking for the Altair in December, but failed to spot the boat. He returned from skiing on January 4, and said that both Mr. Edness and Mr. Battersbee suggested they go out looking for the abandoned yacht again. They left two days later.

If they had managed to salvage the boat and tow it back to Bermuda, they would have received a reward in the region of $30,000 to $40,000. They decided to go on Mr. Lambe's boat New Nuts because it had the most salvage equipment on board, but he said the boat was more than up to the task at hand.

"I have worked 200 miles off shore in that boat on my own for days on end, without a problem,"said Mr. Lambe.

"I never doubted that boat one bit. When I first started sword fishing, I was gone for weeks on my own. What happened was just one of those things.

"The weather was lousy, but none of us doubted that we would get back safely. We have all been in conditions like that so many times before.

"Micah was half asleep and I was going for a nap. We just thought it would be a slow trip back, but we never thought we would not make it."