An American woman who lost her father at sea in a horrific boating accident has spoken to an American news site about the pain of loosing her “hero”.

Amanda Thorns, 25, told her side of the story to nola.com, a New Orleans, Louisiana, news agency.

Last week The Royal Gazette talked with Captain Dennis White, 64, the owner of the 41ft Ketch Emma Goldman, which was involved in the tragedy.

Capt White said Ms Thorns and her father William, 63, a seaman, had joined him on a sailing trip when they ran into bad weather, including 30ft swells and winds as high as 40 knots.

Capt White said the boat, which had set sail from Martha’s Vineyard, was going “too fast” when it collided with the face of a wave and was tossed like a surf board.

The boat rolled 360 degrees, snaping the vessel’s mast and leaving Ms Thorns’ father William caught in the rigging wires.

According to the US news site, Ms Thorns ran to the deck in her pyjamas and without a life jacket in order to check on her father, who had been holding vigil.

Capt White joined moments later and both saw Captain Thorns’ “bloody face under water” Capt Thorns’ arms were outstretched to them and he was moaning for help, the news site said.

The American site reported: “Amanda Thorns and (Capt) White tried to pull him aboard, but before they could, he was swept away.

“In an instant, the 25-year-old lost the father who, during her childhood, had taken her to fancy dining and ballroom-dancing spots on Cape Cod and had taught her to work with tools and wood on sailboats in Massachusetts.

“He was a hero to me my whole life. And he died a hero’s death, trying to get us out of that storm,” Ms Thorns told the news agency.

The two remaining survivors stayed below deck for three days, bailing out knee-high water and trying to keep as warm as possible, it was reported.

They eventually realised they were stranded and their emergency position-indicating radio beacon was sending out a signal to an unmonitored frequency.

The duo took four-hour turns scanning the seas for passing ships, but two passed by without noticing them, the website explained.

“During the lonely watches, Thorns struggled to resist thinking about her father’s final moments. During her turns to rest, the banging against the hull was so deafening she could not fall asleep,” the site said.

Ms Thorns told them: “I knew any minute, I might be putting a life jacket on and going into the water to wait for a plane to come.

“We never saw a rescue plane. We would’ve died out there. It was ... tough ... keeping sane.”

Finally the weather calmed and Capt White and Ms Thorns managed to cut the mast and other debris loose from the boat. They travelled 50 miles in one day and the next afternoon - while 190 miles northwest of Bermuda - lit a flare and were saved by a passing oil tanker, the site said. The survivors arrived on Bermuda on November 21.

Ms Thorns left the Island to go back to the US last Monday, while Capt White left for the US on Wednesday afternoon. According to the New Orleans website, Ms Thorns flew straight to San Francisco to visit friends for Thanksgiving.

“She immersed herself in cooking turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie for 16 people. At moments, she managed to stop thinking about her loss and her 15-day ordeal.”

Nola reported Ms Thorns had plans to return to New Orleans where she used to work as a waitress. She has allegedly been “unable to avoid reliving her ill-fated trip in conversations with friends, acquaintances and reporters”. And she told nola: “I want this to have never happened. I just want my old life back.”

To read the full article by Ramon Antonio Vargas visit www.nola.com