while swimming in Harrington Sound.

The 44-year-old man, who rescuers identified as Mr. Wilbert Smith, was trying to swim from Crawl Hill Dock near Abbot's Cliff to Trunk Island in the middle of Harrington Sound at about 6 p.m.

Mr. Grant Hall, who witnessed the incident, said Mr. Smith was part of a group of about a dozen swimmers. He tired about three-quarters of the way to the island and sought help from other swimmers who had an air mattress.

However, Mr. Smith lost consciousness and slipped under the water, Mr. Hall said.

Mrs. Jan Bergl, who was swimming on a Trunk Island beach with her family, came to the aid of Mr. Smith and pulled him to the beach with the help of his friends, Mr. Hall said.

Mr. John Patterson called 911, while Mrs. Bergl and nurses Mrs. Ethel Patterson and Mrs. Florence Hall helped Mr. Smith regain consciousness.

The lesson to be learned was not to rely on flotation devices during a long swim, Mr. Hall said.

A Police spokesman said the man had already regained consciousness when Police arrived at about 6 p.m. He was given some first aid treatment before being taken to Harrington Sound Public Dock and then to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he spent the night.

"The man had apparently got into difficulty whilst swimming and swallowed some water,'' the spokesman said. "He is expected to make a recovery.'' Also over the Cup Match holiday, a 22-year-old man suffered injuries when he attempted to dive off some rocks into shallow water at Chaplain Bay and struck his head on the bottom.

Police arrived on the scene just after 6 p.m. and the man was taken to hospital where he was detained. However, his injuries are not believed to be serious, a spokesman said.

A six-year-old girl was also rushed to hospital when she slipped on a boat and stabbed herself with a pencil she was carrying. The pencil punctured her face and neck but the girl was later released after treatment.