HMS Invincible rescued two Frenchmen from their stricken yacht while taking part in exercises in the Mediterranean.

She answered a mayday message from the yacht Kabuki, which had lost her sail and was taking in water off the coast of Algeria.

The carrier, 15 miles away, immediately launched a rescue helicopter and informed the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Almeria in Spain. Throughout the operation, a French Navy exchange officer in Invincible, Lt Jean-Luc Duval, remained in radio contact with the yachtsmen.

The helicopter arrived on the scene within 20 minutes by which time the holed yacht had taken on a large amount of water and her crew - Roger Brunetto and Paul Etienne Agostini - were in the water.

They were winched into the Sea King helicopter and, exhausted, were flown to Invincible where they recovered after receiving medical attention, dry clothes and hot coffee.

Making it a truly multinational operation, pilot of the helicopter was Capt Paul Dittman of the Canadian Armed Forces. The other crew members were Lts Dave Mallen and Gary Milton, and LACMN Mick Hipkin.

In another Royal Navy rescue, two Honduran fishermen who had drifted in an open boat for two days were rescued by HMS Cardiff off Belize. HMS Cardiff, which is on West Indies duty, spotted the two men in their small skiff, which was without power when their outboard motor fell off.

The fishermen were given food and clothing on board while their boat was towed to Belize, were HMS Cardiff and the tanker RFA Black Rover where heading for a port visit.