In this contest between a flimsy yacht and a bulky oil tanker, there was only going to be one winner.

Hundreds of people saw the collision in the Solent yesterday during the first races of the annual Cowes Week sailing regatta on the Isle of Wight.

Two people were thrown overboard when the sails of the boat Atlanta of Chester, got tangled in the anchor of the massive tanker. The yachtsmen were pulled from the water by a regatta safety boat.

One crew member was taken to hospital with a head injury while the other was unharmed.

Yesterday marked the start of the annual week-long Cowes regatta, the largest event of its type in the world. Marine accident investigators were informed of the collision.