One of the Solent's most prized racing boats, Leopard, will be out of action for five months while repairs are made to her broken rudder and ravaged hull.

The 90-foot yacht, which was built in Southampton in 1999 at a cost of £1.5m, was abandoned 600 miles off the coast of Cornwall when her rudder broke.

She was towed to Lisbon and put on a specialist yacht transporter ship headed for Southampton.

But on the way over, she was dislodged from her cradle and suffered extensive damage to her port side hull, leaving owner Mike Slade with an insurance claim of £1.5 million.

The boat, currently at Hamble Yacht Services, will be restored before the end of October when she will leave for Australia in time for the Sydney to Hobart race starting on Boxing Day.