Watery Ways

In this account of her first year of living on a houseboat in Rotterdam's Oude Haven, Valerie Poore's overriding impression is that "one of the first things you learn about living on a boat is that an awful lot of stuff is going to end up in the water." The year in question is 2001, and the forty something Valerie exchanges life in the fast lane of corporate Johannesburg for the charm of the Dutch waterways. Every month brings new challenges, obstacles and experiences. She meets a whole world of fascinating people, not least of whom are an endlessly smiling, but absent minded 'landlord', an intellectual, but quirky friend and confidante and an old world charmer whose mastery at the helm wins more than just her respect. She also learns how to cope with the sometimes strenuous demands of acting as skipper's mate during numerous nail-biting watery adventures - quite frequently to hilarious effect