A Bermudian chief steward yesterday vowed to return to sea -- even after escaping the second sinking of her career.

And Jacinta Baptiste -- back on the Island after the drama of the loss of the luxury yacht Shiralee off Puerto Rico -- said she hoped to return to her career with the same captain and crew.

She said: "This time has proven to me that I would have no fears -- and I could walk across the street and die tomorrow.'' And Jacinta said she had complete faith in the top-rated captain of the 148-foot yacht and her shipmates -- which was vindicated with a "textbook'' evacuation as the $20 million Shiralee went down.

She added: "We had four crew members with children -- all I could think was the children still had their fathers and our parents still had the rest of us.

"We all lost possessions but that doesn't equate to the fact that we're all still here.'' Jacinta, 30, was speaking only hours after flying back to Bermuda from San Juan, Puerto Rico and her high-seas rescue by the Royal Navy warship HMS Manchester , which steamed to help after the yacht sprung a mystery leak in the early hours of Monday morning.

All 11 crewmembers were picked up safely from the stricken yacht, which could accommodate up to 12 passengers in luxury surroundings, although there were none on board at the time of the accident. But she slammed the US Coast Guard in Puerto Rico for failing to respond fast enough -- and when there was still a chance the French-owned, Caymans-registered Shiralee could have been saved.

And she questioned why the British destroyer -- steaming from 35 miles away -- got to them first when Puerto Rico's San Juan has a massive US Coast Guard station which was only around ten miles away from Shiralee's last position.

Jacinta said: "Hurray for the British boys in blue -- it seems the British Navy is more concerned about loss of life and the Coast Guard is more concerned about drug hauls and how much money they will rake in.

" Manchester was 35 miles away and they came charging in -- they didn't care who it was, all they knew that there were people in distress.

"The Coast Guard could have claimed salvage rights -- they saved another vessel about ten days before. I don't see why they couldn't have done the same for us.

"Why they couldn't get out to us when it took three hours to sink, I just don't understand.'' Jacinta escaped another wreck several years ago when the yacht she was crewing ran into rocks and sank off the Caribbean's Anguilla.

No fear of the sea The chief steward -- still distressed at the loss of the 148-foot luxury yacht the crew regarded as home -- admitted the cause of the sinking might never be known as Shiralee went down in around 4000 feet of water.

She said: "This was a complete freak accident and we have no clue as to what happened. The only thing we know is we took on water.

And Jacinta -- whose job included organising lifeboat stations -- added: "It was a textbook evacuation -- everything happened very smoothly -- I work with a wonderful crew and everybody kept their heads.

"At no time did I feel threatened with potential loss of life. I trust the crew and the captain.'' But she admitted she could not bear to watch from her lifeboat as the Shiralee went down stern first.

Jacinta added that she had stood the 8-12 p.m. watch with the captain and the alarm bells started to ring less than two hours after another watch took over.

She said the ship and engine room was examined thoroughly and no problems were found -- but just 20 minutes later, alarms went off again and water was found in the lower decks.

And -- after a bid to clear the water with emergency pumps and a total loss of power -- the crew were ordered into the liferafts by rescuers.

Jacinta, who will be staying with her mother Vaughan in Hamilton Parish before returning to her home in France next month, added: " Shiralee was only two years old and in brilliant nick -- we were just in the shipyard in October.

"And in that league of yacht, owners are very meticulous and careful with maintenance. We had a really good owner in that sense.'' The yacht had left St. Thomas and was en route to pick up passengers from Havana, Cuba, when she went down.

Jacinta said she had lost thousands of dollars worth of clothes and had to be equipped with Royal Navy uniform and boots on HMS Manchester -- but that the only thing she really missed was a baby quilt she had just finished making from a hand-printed piece of silk for sister Sacha, who is expecting a child in August.

The Shiralee : Bermudian Jacinta Baptiste managed to escape the $20 million luxury yacht before it sank off Puerto Rico earlier this week.