A helicopter crew from RNAS Culdrose plucked a lone skipper from his upturned yacht in a hazardous rescue operation on Sunday.

Roger Barber was winched to safety from the hull of his 30ft trimaran Meridian, which had somersaulted in a freak wind around 75 miles south west of the Isles of Scilly.

The 39-year-old yachtsman had been leading the 1,200-mile second leg of the Azores and Back Race (AZAB) and was just 12 hours from the finish line at Falmouth.

The Culdrose crew of pilots Lieutenant Jon Platt and Flight Lieutenant Jon Everitt, observer Lieutenant Del Dingley and winchman Leading Aircrewman "Kidney" Hatch were sent to investigate a report of an emergency beacon.

They found Mr Barber sitting on the hull of his boat, with a heavy swell breaking over the capsized vessel.

Leading Aircrewman Hatch, who was winched down to rescue Mr Barber, said the operation was made more hazardous by the high seas.

"Because of the conditions, it took three attempts to place me on the upturned hull," he said.

"Mr Barber had all the right emergency equipment and was very well prepared. I put the rescue strop around him and we were both winched back into the helicopter."

Mr Barber, who had activated the satellite distress beacon himself, was flown unhurt to the Helston base, where he paid tribute to his rescuers. He said: "The crew did an absolutely fantastic job and I have nothing but praise for the very professional way they performed their task."

The yachtsman, from Lymington inHants, said a sudden squall of wind had flipped his vessel over in a matter of seconds, leaving him forced to climb through the escape hatch and wait for help to arrive.

"I considered staying with my yacht but when my rescuers arrived on the scene I realised I had no choice but to abandon her," he added.

Later in the day, the Culdrose crew was called to another of the vessels taking part in the AZAB after a yachtsman suffered a suspected broken leg.

The helicopter was forced to abort the mission in mid-flight after it was realised the position of the yacht had been miscalculated and the vessel was beyond the range of the Sea King.

A helicopter from RAF Chivenor was instead despatched to rescue the casualty.

Other operations for members of 771 Squadron over the weekend included rescuing a French fisherman with a serious eye injury, who was flown to hospital in Truro, and airlifting a diver suffering from the "bends" to hospital in Plymouth.

On their way back to Culdrose, the crew searched an area off Start Point following a report of a distress beacon, and later in the day they were back in action transferring a casualty from a road accident near Land's End to hospital in Truro.