A 46-year-old Englishman was recovering in hospital today after being rescued from his yacht 150 miles off the Irish coast.
Mr Greg Blezard had suffered head injuries after being hit by a spar - a wooden pole - on the boat's sail off Cork two days earlier.
The three other crew members on the yacht became concerned about the blackouts he was experiencing and radioed medical services in Cork.
A Waterford-based Irish Coastguard helicopter airlifted Mr Blezard from the yacht at around 3 a.m.
A Coastguard spokesman said: "He would have been in the British sector but they didn't have a helicopter available, so they requested ours."
The helicopter landed at Truro in Cornwall shortly before 4 a.m., where Mr Blezard was admitted to hospital.
The yacht, named the Gull, had left Valencia in Kerry several days earlier on a voyage to Spain with four crew members on board. The three remaining members are continuing the journey.