After a week on the seabed near Tahiti, damage to Gipsy Moth IV appears more extensive than first thought. Detailed inspections of the 40-year-old ketch are now underway after the vessel was refloated and towed 200 miles on Saturday to the island’s capital, Papeete.

The famous yacht, which took Sir Francis Chichester round the world in 1967, was recreating his voyage when she ran aground on 29 April. She sustained serious damage to her starboard side, and the crew, including three British teenagers, had to be evacuated.

The UKSA, who owns the vessel says ‘repairs aren’t expected to be cheap’. However, offers of help have flooded in from all over the world, and the team is confident she will be repaired in time to sail from Auckland, New Zealand on 23 June.

A marine surveyor from New Zealand will assess the damage tomorrow, and, all being well, Gipsy Moth IV will be shipped to Auckland on 21 May.