A HAMPSHIRE yacht captain has been praised following a dramatic sea rescue.

Southampton's Mark Ashman was at the helm of the yacht Persuader as it faced 60ft high waves in the Atlantic.

Two of his seven-man crew were injured in the "atrocious" conditions and had to be winched to safety by long-range United States Air Force helicopters.

Anya Banks, 27, from Surrey, was knocked unconscious and cracked a breastbone as the boat was thrown around by the sea.

She said: "We are very lucky to be alive. The boat was carnage. I have never seen weather like it."

Simon Briscoe, 24, from London, was severely bruised when he was flung into the sea and was saved only by a lifeline clipped to the 65ft yacht.

Mr Briscoe, who has been sailing for 17 years, praised the rescue crews and said Mr Ashman dealt with the whole situation "very professionally."

The pair told of their terrifying ordeal from Treliske Hospital, Truro, Cornwall, where they were recovering after the rescue.

The vessel was 480 miles south- west of Land's End when the waves hit.

The US helicopter crew said it was one of the most difficult operations they had ever undertaken.