Yachtsman Rescued After Boom Accident At Cowes Week

5 August 2013, 08:38 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A man's been taken to hospital after the boom from his yacht's sail hit him in the head at Cowes Week.

The yachtsman was rushed ashore by Cowes RNLI lifeboat on Sunday Afternoon (4 August).

The call came from Solent Coastguards as the lifeboat crew was preparing for a safety patrol among the yachts competing in that day's Cowes Week regatta, being staged in brisk windy conditions. As the lifeboat approached the area of East Lepe Buoy, the yacht identified itself amongst the many racers by setting off a flare.

A lifeboat crew member, Dr Will King, went aboard to carry out a preliminary examination of the man, in his thirties and still conscious. He was eventually taken by the lifeboat to Trinity Landing to where an ambulance had been summoned to take the yachtsman to Newport's St Mary's Hospital.

Waiting at Trinity Landing to assist in the transfer were members of the lifeboat's shore crew; minutes before they were on hand to help in the transfer of another yachtsman who had received a head injury and also needed a hospital check-up. He had been landed by Gosport lifeboat.