'Vanished' boat returns after 13 years

Two friends have been reunited with their small boat that vanished from a Devon river 13 years ago.

The owners of the plastic tender thought it had been stolen from its mooring at Lympstone on the Exe estuary in June 2011.

But last month the boat was spotted in nearby Topsham after storms hit the region.

The owners believe the stormy weather may have freed it from reed beds along the river, where it had been stuck and out of sight for more than a decade.

"It was just after lunch", said co-owner Trevor Harris, recounting the last time he saw the boat after tying it to a buoy in 2011.

"We'd used it, moored it, came back after lunch and it was gone."

Both Mr Harris and fellow owner Dave Moxom feared it had been stolen.

But then, in April, Storm Pierrick lashed the Devon coast, and the small plastic boat - a green Pioner 12 - was spotted just up the river by friend Tom Williams.

"Credit must go to Tom," said Mr Moxom.

"Not only did he rescue the boat, but he then towed it up the river for us, so we could get our boat back."

"It's the miracle of Lympstone, I call it," he said.

“It’s the prodigal boat – it’s returned.”

The boat's owners think their vessel had spent the past 13 years caught up in reed beds, based on its condition.

"It was absolutely covered in mud and full of reeds," said Mr Harris.

"So it was a bit of a job to get it looking as good as it is now."

The owners no longer have a fishing boat.

They said the little boat's days as a tender may be over, but they will keep on using it.

"It would be rude not to, after all these years," they added.

"I think it deserves it."

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