A pair of Royal Navy sailors from Dartmouth competing in a major sailing event gave up their race hopes to rescue the crew of a capsized yacht.

Sub Lieutentant Richard Burns and Midshipman Edward Pearson were taking part in the Round the Island race off the Isle of Wight when they spotted an overturned catamaran with its crew of eight, including four teenagers, struggling in the water.

Forfeiting their place in the race, the duo went to the rescue – taking six of the crew of the luckless catamaran on board after they were hauled to safety by the RNLI.

Mid Pearson, 20, from Horrabridge, near Tavistock, said: 'When I saw the yacht capsize, I knew that we were in the best place to assist. It was a natural thing to do.'

Sub Lt Burns said: 'When we took the sailors onboard, we were able to get them changed and warmed up fast enough to prevent the very real threat of hypothermia.

'This was part of what we had learned during our training on Dartmoor.'

Now the pair have been praised for their actions by Karen Laurie, the owner of the capsized yacht Aquae Sulis.

She said: 'The two young officer cadets acted professionally and with great kindness to all of our crew, who they helped rescue, feed and return to Gosport later that day.

'We will be eternally grateful to them and their family for their help and support.

'Four of our crew were young boys of 14 and 16 years old and having the support from the crew of Monocle has hopefully minimised the trauma of the incident for our young lads. The officer cadets are a credit to their profession.'

The Royal Navy pair were two hours into the 50 nautical mile race sailing the catamaran Monochle – which is owned by Sub Lt. Burns' uncle - when they spotted the capsized Aqua Suilis 200 yards away.

Forfeiting their own place in the race, the Monocle sent out a Mayday call, turned their engine on and headed to the rescue, getting as close to Aqua Sullis as possible.

The RNLI also arrived at the scene and pulled everyone out of the water.

Monocle took six of the crew on board, while the remaining two stayed in the lifeboat as one of them needed first aid.

Having already completed their initial officer training, Sub Lt Burns and Mid Pearson are currently undergoing their Initial Warfare Officers Foundation course at BRNC.

They are learning specialist skills in seamanship and navigation.

Once fully qualified they will become Officers of the Watch on the bridge and be able to handle the ship in all sea states and conditions.