The powerful story of a boat crash and the subsequent rescue effort to save a badly injured competitor was highlighted at an awards night that saluted bravery and heroism last night.

A dozen people were honoured at Government house during by the Bermuda Bravery Award Association at their annual award ceremony.

The ceremony recognises the efforts of normal people, medical professionals and first responders who, in some cases, risk their own lives to save others.

One of the most compelling tales recognised during the event was the saving of powerboat driver Joey Desilva during the 2007 Round The Island Race. Mr. Desilva and his co-pilot Nuno Mota were violently ejected from their boat near Five Star Island in Hamilton Harbour.

While Mr. Mota was relatively unhurt in the accident, Mr. Desilva "was not in good shape", said Mr. Mota.

"We were thrown 30 feet in the air and Joey was knocked unconscious," he said. "There was a lot of blood in the water and Joey was floating face down. I had badly bruised my arm but at that point I didn't think about it – I just swam towards Joey."

Luckily for Mr. Desilva several on-lookers on Jetskis saw the accident and reacted quickly.

"It happened in the blink of an eye," said Cameron Madeiros, one of the men on Jetskis who helped save Mr. Desilva.

"They looked like two rag dolls being thrown through the air," added Alex Melvin who also assisted.

The two men were left floating in the path of other race boats. It was at this point that Andy Kyle, who was also on a Jetski and Alex Melvin went to the other side of Five Star Island to try and inform oncoming boats that there had been an accident.

"They saw us waving and yelling and just thought that we were crazy fans," said Mr. Melvin. "We had a couple boats speed by extremely close to us – just a few feet – it was terrifying."

Because of Mr. Desilva's "severe condition" the men were reluctant to move his unresponsive body in case he had a spine injury. "He was bleeding from his eyes and ears," said John Singleton – another rescuer.

All five men worked as a team to ensure that Mr. Desilva was safe in the water until a larger boat was able to pick him up and take him to Jew's Bay to meet a waiting ambulance.

Speaking on behalf of all of the men involved that day, Mr. Melvin said: "We are just really happy to see that he made a full recovery."

Last night was the first time that Mr. Desilva had met all of his rescuers in person. He said that the ordeal was "horrifying" and had motivated him to give up powerboat racing.

"I can't thank these guys enough for what they did for me. It was an absolute pleasure to meet them all."

Mr. Mota, Mr. Singleton and Mr. Madeiros were given the lifesaving award while Mr. Kyle and Mr. Melvin were awarded for bravery.

Association President, Mark Selley pointed out that under the constitution of the Bermuda Bravery Award Association all of the nominee names must be submitted by members of the public and emergency organisations.

He said that the nominees were judged by a "cross-section of Bermudians who make up the Bravery Awards Association. He added: "The Bermuda Bravery Awards Association was re-formed in 1995 after lying dormant for a number of years. It's mission is to establish a more positive and caring approach to recognising those who go above and beyond the call of duty in helping others during life-threatening situations."

Also awarded at the ceremony were: Adrian Bremar and Stephen Winchell, who in October 2007 in Sandys Parish saved Brian McCullough from drowning after he had been badly burned when his boat exploded in flames were given awards for their bravery; Bruno Teixeira, a lifeguard, who in June 2009 saved two female visitors from drowning at Horseshoe Bay after they had been caught in a deadly rip current was given a Lifesaving Award. Mr. Teixeira saved their lives with the use of nothing more than a floating rescue tube.

While working in Southampton in May of 2009 Manuel Baron and Oliviero Guerreiro responded to frantic screams coming from the next door property. When they reached the scene they found two-year-old Paul Rodrigues being pulled from a pool by his mother. The child was unresponsive and Mr. Baron and Mr. Guerreiro performed CPR on the young boy until the child regained consciousness. Mr. Baron and Mr. Guerreiro were presented the lifesaving award before being re-united with young Paul and his grateful mother.

Two more lifesaving awards were given to Myles Darrell and Stephen Burgess who, while at work at the Botanical Gardens in June 2009 responded to an Emergency radio call after a person was found unconscious and unresponsive in the old carpenter shop adjacent to Camden House. The men assisted in performing CPR on the victim with the use of an automated external defibrillator. When EMTs arrived at the scene care of the victim was handed over to them. Unfortunately despite the heroic efforts of Mr. Darrell and Mr. Burgess the victim was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney presented the awardees with cedar-framed certificates marking their achievements.