Profane tweet stirs speech fight

What to watch for in North Korea rocket launch

First Posted: 4/2/2012 <media-caption>
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Air National Guard parajumpers, from the 129th Rescue Wing prepare medical supplies to be dropped from a Coast Guard aircraft to a 67-foot sailing yacht with three injured persons aboard, the Clipper Venture Six which is sponsored by Geraldton Western Australia, in the Round the World Yacht Race, Saturday, March 31, 2012. The Coast Guard's Rescue Coordination Center in Alameda, Calif. is coordinating the efforts to rescue the three injured persons 400 miles west of San Francisco. (AP Photo/Seaman David Flores, U.S. Coast Guard)
</media-caption>



 (AP) The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two injured British sailors off the California coast Sunday from a yacht that was hit by a monster wave while participating in an around-the-world race.
A rescue boat reached the battered yacht about 200 miles off the coast and transported the sailors to a Coast Guard cutter. From there, the two boarded a helicopter and were flown to San Francisco for medical treatment, Petty Officer Caleb Critchfield said.
The injured were Jane Hitchens, 50, a doctor from Kent, England, who may have suffered broken ribs, and Nik Brbora, 29, a software engineer from London who may have suffered a pelvic strain, said DeeDee Taft, a spokeswoman for the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race.
Taft said the nearly 70-foot Geraldton Western Australia was hit by a huge wave Saturday when it was about 400 miles from the finish line in San Francisco Bay, knocking out its steering mounting.
"We were making good speed, sailing with the third reef in the main, surfing at 15-20 knots," said Juan Coetzer, skipper of the yacht. "Then ... just before the sun came up, a monstrous foaming swell broke over our stern."
The sea was so rough on Saturday that rescuers couldn't parachute down to the yacht and rescue the injured sailors. The Coast Guard was only able to drop medical supplies until the cutter arrived to assist the crew.
Thirteen people were aboard the yacht. Two others who suffered minor injuries decided to continue sailing, Taft said. The crew was expected to arrive in Oakland's Jack London Square on Monday.
The crew planned to fix the yacht and continue two more legs of the race, which began in Southhampton in England and will finish July 22 after nearly a year at sea.
<a title="Associated Press" href="http://www.ap.org" class="url org fn">Associated Press</a>

2 rescued from stricken yacht off Calif. coast