A mercy mission to an injured sailor on board the tall ship Stavros S Niarchos was successfully completed by the Tenby lifeboat and a coastguard rescue helicopter yesterday (Wednesday).

The ship, operated by the Tall Ships Youth Trust, was in rough seas nine miles south of Caldey Island when a crew member fell and injured her head.

The RNLI all-weather lifeboat, the Haydn Miller, launched at 4.50pm and made best speed through a three-metre swell and 35-knot winds.

Both the lifeboat and Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 187 from St Athan arrived at the scene at the same time, and the helicopter winchman was lowered to the deck to assess the casualty.

The job was made harder by the ship's masts pitching from side to side in the swell.

Because of the weather conditions, it was decided to transfer the casualty in the shelter of Caldey Island where there was much more shelter from the elements.

Once there, the lifeboat managed to get alongside the tall ship and take the casualty, another crew member and the helicopter winchman aboard.

The winchman, also a paramedic, decided that the sailor did not require an airlift to hospital and that she was fine to be taken back to Tenby by lifeboat.

The winchman was then lifted back off the deck of the lifeboat by the helicopter before it made its way back to base.

The Haydn Miller returned to Tenby where the casualty was checked over at the lifeboat station by the awaiting paramedics before being released.