A Bermudian chief steward on a luxury yacht which sank off Puerto Rico was last night on her way home after being plucked from the sea by the crew of a Royal Navy destroyer.

Jacinta Baptiste's sister, Sacha, of Warwick, said: "I've only spoken to her very briefly and she seemed all right. But that might just have been bravado because the rest of the crew was there.'' "I'm sure it was horribly frightening -- but she sounded pretty chipper when I spoke to her.'' Mother Vaughan Sullivan -- who visited her daughter and the boat in St.

Maarten recently -- added: "I'm sure she was shaken, but she's gutsy.'' And she revealed it was the second time her girl had had to abandon ship on the high seas.

Ms Sullivan said: "She was shipwrecked the first time she went out on a boat.

The yacht was en route to South Africa from Bermuda -- it was wrecked and they had to abandon it off Anguilla.'' The latest drama began after the 148-foot motor yacht Shira Lee sprung a major leak in the engine room in the early hours of Monday morning.

The crew sent a mayday after the boat started sinking in thousands of feet of water ten miles off Puerto Rico -- and Island woman Jacinta was forced to abandon ship with the ten other crewmembers of the $20 million motor yacht.

But the tiny liferafts were spotted by a Lynx helicopter from the West Indies Guard Ship HMS Manchester , which picked up the faint distress call from more than 20 miles away.

And the warship diverted to rescue Jacinta and the rest of the crew from the sea.

Sacha added Jacinta, 30, had had no time to grab any personal possessions before abandoning ship and was returning to Bermuda dressed in Royal Navy uniform and too-big boots because she had no clothes of her own left. Sacha said: "She's been on boats for years and she's pretty seasoned -- but nothing like this has happened to her before.'' Local woman rescued by warship "But I think the fact she's wearing British Navy-issue boots is pretty distressing for her -- she's a fashionable girl!'' The crew called for help at 2:45 a.m. on Monday, saying the vessel was taking on water in its engine room as it passed about 10 miles off the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan.

Sacha said her sister had told her she had been ordered by the yacht's owners not to discuss the circumstances of the sinking.

She added: "I think it was something to do with the insurance -- the reason she called us was that we might see news of it on CNN or something and start panicking.'' Manchester captain Commander Bob Brown said yesterday: "By the time we arrived on the scene, things were looking bad for the Shira Lee .

"She was sinking by the stern and going down fast. All of the crew were recovered and brought on board for medical checks and food.

"There were no injuries and they all seemed very grateful to have been rescued so quickly.'' Helicopters and boats from the US Coast Guard and the Puerto Rico Police Department rushed to the scene and stood by to assist.

A cruise ship, the Nordic Empress , due to start sailings to Bermuda in May, also diverted to help.

The stunned crew of the Shira Lee were transferred to a US Coast Guard cutter and taken to San Juan for the night. Jacinta started her journey back to Bermuda yesterday.

A US Coast Guard spokesman said: "It was a pretty lucky case, that so many people could get there that fast to help.'' The yacht had left Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and was going to pick up passengers in Havana, Cuba, when it went down.

Jacinta has been living in Antibes, in the South of France, where the Shira Lee is normally based, for some months.

The vessel was originally called the Sari and can accommodate 12 guests and 10 crew members.

Reports from Puerto Rico said the vessel was less than two-years-old and was worth around $20 million. The vessel is registered to a Caymans company, but only a PO Box address was listed with the Caymans Shipping Registry.

Investigators are unsure what caused the catastrophic leak, but said it was unlikely the yacht would be raised. Rescue crews recovered debris including rafts, two dinghies and a jetski.

BERMUDIAN BDA