SAILOR Paul Kay today spoke of his terrifying ordeal trapped on a sinking yacht for two days and said: "I started to think I wouldn't get off alive".

Paul, 33, endured 42 hours trapped on the yacht in a storm and then had to be plucked from the sea by a rescue helicopter after his life raft burst.

This week's drama started when Paul was asked to crew a 30 metres £4.5million yacht 'Wind And Lowe" from Lanzarote to Gibraltar when he had a few days off from his regular sailing job.

Paul, from Pleasington, thought the job would be a nice way to earn some extra money but never thought he would end up fearing for his life after a massive storm took hold.

He said: "We set off on Sunday morning but after we got 50 miles out the storm took hold. The waves were10 metres high, there were 63 knot winds and the sea was very heavy."

Then disaster struck as the ship lost its mainsail and the yacht started taking on water. Then the computers and the navigation system failed. Paul, who is single, said: "By Monday morning we decided to stop the yacht altogether and start bailing out water, but water got in the engine rooms and the engine caught fire and then failed as well." That was the start of a terrifying 42 hour wait on the sinking yacht in a major shipping lane with no lights or power for Paul, his captain and two passengers, an 81-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy.

Paul, whose dad Ian runs Direct Match motorbodies, in Canterbury Street, Blackburn, said: "The only thing we had was an emergency beacon which we set off, but we got no reply. I was beginning to think that we wouldn't get off alive. I was depressed -- we were on a sinking yacht with no power and no radio."

Then Paul and his captain came up with the idea of making a makeshift radio by taking a battery off one of the yacht's dinghies.

Paul said: "We connected the radio using the battery and a passing cargo ship picked up our signal and contacted the authorities. "We were radioed to say the emergency helicopter was coming out for us and that we had to get off the ship and into a life raft."

But that wasn't the end of the drama as the yacht's only life raft which hadn't been blown out to sea by the storm then burst -- with all their belongings in it.

Paul said: "The yacht was sinking so there was only one thing for it but to jump into the sea and wait for the helicopter to pick us up."

Paul is now recovering from his ordeal at his home in Lanzarote after being rescued on Wednesday.

He said: "The captain was absolutely fantastic. I can't believe how lucky we all were to get out of that unscathed. It was an experience I'll never forget. We found out later that the authorities had seen the first beacon we had set, but didn't send help because they were arguing whether we were in Spanish or Moroccan waters."

Paul's dad Ian, who lives in Meins Road, Blackburn, said: "I couldn't believe it when he rang and told us what happened. We are just glad that he is OK. He has only been involved in sailing for a few years and he was really pleased to be asked to crew this yacht to Gibraltar. He never imagined this would happen."