An attempt to rescue crew members injured at sea after a wave crashed onto their vessel in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has been delayed.
The four, including three Britons, were hurt during a storm in the Pacific Ocean, 400 miles off California.
The Britons are Nik Brbora, 29, of London, Jane Hitchens, 50, from Kent, and Mark Burkes, 47, of Worcestershire.
Medical supplies have been dropped onto the boat, but paramedics were unable to board due to the weather.
Dr Hitchens, the onboard medic, has four suspected broken ribs and possible internal injuries, Mr Burkes has suffered a back injury and Mr Brbora, a software engineer, has a possible pelvic sprain.
The other injured man was named as Max Wilson, 62, a farmer from Queensland, Australia. He has two suspected cracked or broken ribs.
Race director Jonathan Bailey told the BBC that initially, it was thought all four would need airlifting off the vessel, but it later appeared only one or two would.
Dr Hitchens was probably the worst injured, and she had had oxygen dropped to her to help with breathing difficulties, he said.
"She is stable at the moment, on oxygen, and is actually well enough to diagnose the other casualties," he added.
Mr Burkes was not as seriously injured as originally thought and had been taken "off the medical list", Mr Bailey said.
The rest of the 18-strong crew on the boat, the Geraldton Western Australia, are said to be uninjured but shaken.
US coastguard Levi Read said: "The weather conditions were not conducive to allow the jumpers from the aircraft. Because of fuel concerns, the aircraft had to return to land with the jumpers."
The US coastguard is sending a rescue boat fitted with a flight deck to the vessel, and is expected to arrive at about 1600 BST.
A long-range response helicopter has been launched from San Diego, California, and will land on the US vessel, before approaching the clipper.
Mr Read said he expected it would then lower in paramedics.
"They will decide whether they need to evacuate those injured people aboard the helicopter and take them to the closest medical resources," he added.
The crew were taking part in the biennial Clipper Round The World Yacht Race in one of 10 UK registered 68-foot yachts.
The wave hit the boat in storm conditions on Saturday, sweeping away its steering wheel, mount and some of its communications equipment.
The four were the watch on deck at the time.
Mr Bailey said: "A nasty little low pressure system came up behind the yacht and produced some very large waves.
"One broke over the back of the boat, and the crew that were on deck at the time were hit by the full force of the wave landing on the boat."
Race organisers limit how far north the yachts are permitted to go, but the low pressure system came further south than usual.
The 40,000-mile (64,500km) race, which features predominantly amateur crews, started in Southampton in July. It will return to the city in July 2012.
The Geraldton Western Australia is expected to arrive in San Francisco in the next 48 hours, before heading to the Panama canal on 14 April.
- BBC
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