Three crew members were rescued from their ship, the Sennen early Sunday morning after high winds and seas destroyed her communications equipment.

A Harbour Radio spokesman said the crew, who were on their way to the Azores in the 38-foot vessel, were taken aboard the Ferrol cargo ship, to Spain. The US Coast Guard and Harbour Radio managed to locate the vessel 140 miles off the Island.

The ship has since been abandoned.

Meanwhile, high winds and bad weather left several flights circling over the Island or turning back as they attempted to land on schedule this weekend.

US Airways Flight 386 from Philadelphia was due to arrive at 8.30 on Saturday night and attempted to make a landing but circled for an hour only to return to the US for re-fueling.

The flight arrived just as a storm system moved across the Island, dumping nearly five-inches of rain overnight. The flight eventually landed at 3 a.m., yesterday.

Delta cancelled its Atlanta-Bermuda flight which was due to arrive in Bermuda at 5 p.m. The United Airlines flight from Chicago, which departs in the afternoon from the US, also had to return to the US stopping over in Richmond, Virginia, before taking off early in the morning and landing in Bermuda 11 a.m. Sunday.

A Jet Blue flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to the JFK Airport in New York was diverted to the Island when a 65-year-old passenger suffered a suspected heart attack. The flight landed at 9.30 Sunday morning to transport the man to hospital, leaving an hour later for New York.