We splashed at Deltaville Boatyard on Thursday 29th March, the engine, bowthruster and fridge, heater and hot water all worked, many smaller jobs completed. Our tanks still tasted of antifreeze. It was a close fit on the travel hoist, barely 6 inches on each side of the hull. We are very happy to recommend the yard, they emailed us regularly to keep us uptodate with work done. 

We drove to Washington to meet Keir from Scotland, said bye to some of the wonderful friends we have made in the States, and sold our car. Gil saw Washington, and had a tour of the Pentagon and Capitol building with Jack. We had our seatrials, and had a 40 mile sail to Hampton, near the mouth of the Chesapeake. We phoned immigration to say we were leaving with 6 crew, and they said "We don't care what you do when you leave, only when you arrive. Enjoy your trip."

Peter, Gil and Jack met up with Roland, Keir and Consie in Hampton, all ready to go - and we woke up in a snowstorm on Easter Saturday! Jack's brother in law scooped us up and took us to Smithfield, the ham capital of the world, where we ate Piggly Wiggly sandwiches and waited for a good weather report.

We hope to arrive in Bermuda around 14th April, and will stay there while the Etchell regatta is on, Joan, Jane, Ruth and Olivia are flying there to meet us, together with our new crew members, Pat and James. We hope to leave for Ireland around 6 May, with 5 men on board: Roland, Gilbert, Pat, Oliver and James. Olivia and Consie will fly to Beijing on 5 May, Consie to return to UK and Restless on 6 June, and Gil will go on to Valencia on 12 June. Restless will then be cruising England, Ireland and Scotland for the rest of the northern summer.

Happy Easter,