Excitement is mounting here at the River Thames Boat Project—our new boat Thames Discoverer is on her way.

She left C .Toms and Sons’ boat yard in Cornwall first thing on Monday 5th February and was lifted from the water in Plymouth. From there she will be taken by road to Reading , where she will be put into the Thames and brought down river to Kingston next week.

Our skipper, Peter Oldham, is planning Thames Discoverer familiarisation training for our volunteer crew, following which she will be put into operation at Easter.

It has been quite a journey for the charity from deciding four years ago to go for a new boat, to working with our naval architect Graham Westbrook and Toms, to now preparing for her arrival. But none of this could have happened without the generosity of all those who dug deep into their pockets and donated — you know who you are, so a very warm thank you.