A Portland helicopter crew helped save the life of a seriously injured sailor who was taking part in an endurance yacht race.

The search and rescue helicopter was scrambled after the woman was knocked unconscious when she was hit by the boom in high winds in Lyme Bay.

The crew carried out a daring rescue as they lowered the winchman on to the deck of the yacht while the mast swung precariously in the rough seas.

Competitors battled poor weather conditions in the 230-mile Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Myth of Malham race on Saturday which begins and ends in Cowes.

The young woman suffered serious head injuries after she was knocked unconscious whilst crewing on the yacht Liquid Vortex.

The team from Portland was called out to the yacht 10 miles east of Start Point in Devon.

Coastguard watch officer Tom Wright said: “Everyone taking part in the race is quite an experienced sailor because you need to do certain series to take part in that race.

“The woman was on board with an experienced sailing crew. It’s unfortunate that it happened in the first place.

“She was lucky that we had all the assets to rescue her.”

The Aeronautical Rescue Centre called the Portland Coastguard to the incident because of the severity of the woman’s injuries.

The helicopter was scrambled to the scene within the Brixham Coastguard district at 11.19am and aircrew paramedic Pat Holder was lowered to the deck of Liquid Vortex.

Life-saving treatment was given to help stabilise the woman before she was winched on board the helicopter to be flown 35 miles to the A&E department of Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

The rescue helicopter team had to dodge the yacht’s thrashing mast to get the casualty to hospital fast since the woman was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Mr Wright said weather conditions made the rescue difficult.

“It was very windy with a strong westerly wind which created fairly gusty conditions around the race course.

“We had very strong winds and a lot of yachts found themselves in difficulty,” he said.

A coastguard spokeswoman said that seven of the 141 participants in the race experienced difficulty because of the weather.

Sailors on board the yacht Draig O’r Mor called for help at 12.43pm after it dismasted in the middle of Lyme Bay.

A communications watch was maintained by Portland Coastguard as the vessel proceeded to Weymouth under power.

The Myth of Malham Race is one of the longest races in the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) calendar.

Competitors have to sail from Cowes, around the Eddystone Lighthouse in Devon and back again.

The RORC’s website describes the race as a test of endurance and concentration that is ‘extremely tactical’ because of strong tides that flow along the south west coast of England.