The next two legs of Gipsy Moth IV’s circumnavigation have been cancelled while the yacht undergoes repairs.

The newly restored ketch, which took Sir Francis Chichester round the world in 1967, was sailing from Marquesas to Tahiti, when she hit a reef on Saturday. No-one was hurt but the vessel sustained a 20cm (8in) hole to her starboard side, and the crew, including three teenagers, had to be evacuated.

Salvage experts from Tahiti and Rotterdam are assessing how to remove Gipsy Moth IV from the reef, and a decision will be made shortly as to whether she will be repaired in Tahiti or shipped to Auckland, New Zealand.

The round-the-world voyage, organised by the UK Sailing Academy, is being crewed by youngsters with illnesses or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Although the next two legs – from Tahiti to Tonga and from Tonga to Auckland – have been cancelled, Gipsy Moth IV is still planned to sail into Sydney on schedule.