Leopard of London, the 90ft racing yacht, which was abandoned in the Atlantic nearly two weeks ago, could be salvaged later today or tomorrow morning.

Mike Slade’s Leopard of London broke her carbonfibre rudder stock on Tuesday 2 April and started taking on water. The crew of seven including Chris Sherlock (skipper), Andrew Henderson, Brad Nann, Kerry Evans (chef), Rhyd Morgan, Ross Monson and Arthur Haliburton, were rescued by a passing ship, the Kurzme and taken to La Coruna in Spain.

The crew of the salvage tug, standing by in storm-force winds since last Friday, has finally reported a dramatic improvement in the weather conditions and say that they should be able to board the stricken yacht later this afternoon or early on Friday morning.

According to Chris Sherlock the skipper, who spoke to Yachting World this morning, Leopard is now lying approximately 500 miles from Lisbon at a position of 3925N and 1935W and still drifting at three knots. She’s floating stern down with the aft compartment completely flooded and the main compartment 40-50 per cent full. But thankfully she appears to be maintaining stability.

Sherlock commented: “Things are starting look up a bit now because the weather is improving all the time. Although we understand there’s a long way to go yet, we are now fairly confident Leopard will be saved. If all goes well, she should be sailing again within three to six months.”