A 72-year-old sailor was knocked out cold by his yacht’s boom in the sea off Brighton today.
When he came round the yacht’s skipper made his way back to the visitors’ pontoon in Brighton Marina where he was met by the RNLI Brighton lifeboat crew.
They gave him first aid for cuts on the back of his head where the pole had left him bleeding.
The crew had just completed a training exercise in the area when they were asked to help shortly before noon.
The Solent Coastguard arranged for an ambulance to attend and the yachtsman was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Kemp Town for further care.