But Sunderland was not going to let his boat get away and kept searching whenever he was around boats - just in case.

In 2003 he moved from Yorkshire to Stranraar in Scotland. Following his normal practice, he asked a local marine dealer if he had seen a boat like his. And this time, to his surprise, the dealer had recently been offered one to buy.

So Sunderland, aided and abetted by the local Plod, recovered his boat after 13 years searching for her.

"As a gesture of goodwill, and in recognition that he has tirelessly tracked his beloved boat down for 13 years, we have let Mr Sunderland keep the boat but have asked, in return, that he makes a donation to a marine-related charity, said insurers Navigators & General.

"I was ecstatic to find her again after all this time, " said Sunderland, who had named her Nannamo after his wife. She (the boat) is now being restored to her former glory.