A couple whose dream of sailing round the world was turned into 'a nightmare' by a leaky yacht they branded 'HMS Disappointment' have won about £1m compensation for the defects which wrecked their plans.

Former paratrooper and deep-sea diver Andrew France bought 58ft sailing yacht - 'Elusive' - for £1.5m in January 2017, resolving to take off round the world with his wife, Maria, after his house was destroyed by fire.

He wanted Elusive to become their new home and for her to be fit for long-term habitation and extended periods at sea, his barrister Noel Casey told London's High Court.

But the couple said they had to ditch their dream due to multiple 'defects on the yacht' which rendered her 'unfit for purpose' and 'not suitable...for blue water cruising'.

Maria France and her husband Andrew wanted to sail around the world in their £1.5m yacht but their journey was constantly interrupted by leaks and maintenance

They claimed the vessel - which they later dubbed 'HMS Disappointment' - was 'not fit to sail' the high seas and 'not watertight,' with one of the cabins flooding just three days after the boat was delivered.

'It was my dream, but it became a nightmare,' explained Mr France outside court.

Mr France, 58, sued Southampton-based Discovery Yacht Sales Ltd (DYS) - from whom he bought his boat - and Discovery Yachts Group Ltd, which dealt with and supported Mr France after a buyout of DYS in April 2017.

And today, High Court judge Mr Justice Teare ruled in Mr France's favour against both companies, awarding him around £1m in compensation.

The judge said the faults were caused by the failure of the seller to ensure it complied with the specification, was of satisfactory quality and was fit for purpose.

'The yacht appears to have been delivered hurriedly and before it was ready to be delivered,' he said. 'It was delivered without an adequate sea trial or commissioning.'

And he said he was satisfied that Discovery Yachts Group had agreed to ensure that repairs outstanding in September 2017 would be completed.

Defence lawyers had argued that 'inexperienced' sailor Mr France should bear part of the blame for the defects, which they said were caused by 'negligent seamanship or a lack of maintenance and competence.'

The court heard that Mr France spent over 20 years working as a saturation deep sea diver before he set his heart on seeing the world from his own boat, and splashed out on Elusive.

But defects showed up soon after her delivery on January 12, 2017, the court heard.

The Elusive drew admiring glances, her new owner wrote in his log, but he was embarrassed to show fellow mariners the state of the vessel inside

'On the first day of her maiden voyage, the mast collar began to leak and on 15 January the forward cabin was flooded with water because of an unfinished cable penetration in the watertight bulkhead,' explained Mr Justice Teare.

Over the next few months, a range of further problems emerged, lawyers said, including a sail block 'disintegrating' and the davit arm - a crane-like structure used for lowering the yacht's lifeboat - coming loose, leaving the dingy dragging in the water behind the yacht.

On January 18, Elusive berthed in La Coruna, Spain, for repairs, but the mast continued to leak and the professional skipper who was helping Mr France find his feet reported: 'Crew morale is extremely low.'

On January 29, she set sail for the Caribbean on the Atlantic leg of her world cruise, but was forced to retreat to the Canary Islands when her generator packed in.

The skipper reported: 'We are suffering problems never experienced before and the general feeling is that the boat is not fit.'

Other problems included the navigation equipment playing up and the autopilot temporarily 'shutting down'.

Mr France reported that Elusive was attracting 'admiring glances' from fellow sailors due to her appearance, but complained: 'I am embarrassed to show them the state of the boat, with blue tape holding drawers and cupboards shut, towels to catch water leaks, badly stained furniture and stink of diesel in the saloon.'

But by May 2017, Elusive had reached Antigua, where he claimed Discovery Yachts Group personnel effected superficial repairs after he sent out a list highlighting the defects.

The same month, he sent a 'message of complaint' to Discovery Yachts Group, which read: 'Surely this is not the standard of build quality one should expect when spending £1.5m.

The couple jokingly renamed their new 58-foot-long sailing boat the 'HMS Disappointment'

'At this time the boat is not fit to sail, and certainly not fit for an ocean passage. I have no confidence in the boat.'

By August 2017, Maria was adding to the litany of complaints, emailing about things 'which drove her crazy on this beautiful-to-be boat', while Mr France referred to it as 'HMS Disappointment' in a later message.

Elusive's next port of call was Annapolis, where Discovery Yachts Group carried out further repairs on the boat in September 2017, but Mr France and his wife were 'underwhelmed by the work'.

He said he even agreed to let Discovery Yachts Group exhibit Elusive at the October 2017 Annapolis Boat Show if they overhauled her with full repairs.

And Mr Justice Teare today backed Mr France's claim, ruling: 'It is plain that an agreement had been reached whereby in return for the yacht being exhibited at the Boat Show the outstanding items of repair would be carried out.'

Mr France's legal team said Elusive remains vulnerable in the high seas and is 'not watertight', although capable of tackling calm waters.

Maritime experts highlighted defects such as leaking deck hatches, a lack of accuracy in fuel and water gauges, and problems with the battery supply.

Failure of catches on cupboards and drawers and a fault in the navigational instruments also rendered Elusive unsuitable for blue-water cruising, Mr Casey said.

Part of the underlying problem is that 'there are a number of areas where the end grain of woodwork has not been sealed', he added.

'Central to his case is an assertion that the yacht is not watertight,' he explained.

'It became clear that the yacht had not been properly outfitted.

'She was not - and is not now - suitable for her agreed purpose: blue-water cruising.'

He added: 'These were serious and frightening problems, and symptomatic of a vessel that had not been properly outfitted and was not ready to go to sea.'

The yacht, which should have become the couple's permanent base, is now beached on a stand near Lymington awaiting an overhaul, while Mr France and his wife are in rented accommodation.

Neither company was represented in court, but in their defence partly blamed Mr France for the yacht's troubles, while Discovery Yachts Group also maintained it had no contractual relationship with Mr France or his company.

It was under no obligation to put right any defects in the yacht, but had made 'extra efforts' to assist him by doing repairs, the company claimed.

But Mr France insisted he was no novice, having clocked up many years of maritime experience.

After ruling against both companies, Mr Justice Teare made clear Mr France was blameless.

'There was a suggestion that the defects are in part attributable to negligence or incompetence by Mr France,' he told the court.

'But the documentary records show that there can be no support for that.'

Assessing the sum to be paid by DYS, the judge said he had considered whether he should reduce the amount to reflect 'the use or benefit' Mr France gained from the yacht.

But he said any benefit he received from his use of the boat was outweighed by 'the disappointment, frustration and anger which Mr France must have experienced'.

Although he had been able to sail across the Atlantic, his experience was 'so very different from what he had hoped' when he agreed to buy the yacht.

'He did not have the enjoyment and pleasure which he had justifiably expected,' he said. 'A very large number of days were spent waiting in marinas for repairs to be done.'

The judge awarded Mr France about £900,000 from DYS, based on the reduced value of the boat. Discovery Yachts Group is liable to pay £260,000 in repair costs, he said.

On top of that, they must together pick up Mr France's legal costs bill, which his lawyers have estimated at £432,000.

After the hearing, Mr France's solicitor said he was happy the judgment had 'vindicated' his client.

'These repairs can be fixed and she will be a good boat,' he added.

Both DYS and Discovery Yachts Group had their defences 'struck out' at the start of the trial when neither party appeared in court.

Shortly before the trial kicked off, 'notice of an intention to place DYG into administration' had also been served, the judge said.