A woman was hurt when a high-speed catamaran run by Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson collided with a spectator's boat during Cowes Week.

The woman, who was on the spectator's boat, was taken to hospital after the collision with the iShares catamaran.

(My Note : Ishares is an extreme 40 catamaran)

She suffered bruising. The catamaran suffered slight damage in the incident on Sunday but was expected to race again on Monday.

The collision happened off Egypt Point on Cowes Esplanade.

The rigid-hulled inflatable (Rib) spectator's boat was destroyed in the collision.

Dee Caffari, the only woman in history to sail solo and non-stop both ways around the world, was a passenger on board the catamaran when the incident happened.

Jo Uffendell, a member of the Aviva Ocean Racing Team, said: "At the beginning of the race, a spectator Rib got too close to the action and the catamaran struck the spectator boat."

She said the Rib was "written off" but added: "Everybody's safe."

An entry on the iShares Cup Racing website read: "Team iShares have a broken gennaker pole and superficial damage to their bow after a collision."

The message said the team planned to be back on the water on Monday.

It is understood the Rib was on the race course when the incident happened.

An iShares Cup spokeswoman said the injured woman, Dorothy Haslam, "received immediate, preliminary first-aid assistance on the water before being transferred to shore and admitted to Newport Hospital".

She said the incident happened in the first race shortly after 1430 BST on the Solent.

She added: "The race direction team are undertaking a full assessment of how the incident occurred. However, on the water, rules are clear that vessels under motorised power must keep clear of boats under sail.

"The spectator Rib was a private vessel and not part of the official organisation."