Watery Ways

by Valerie Poore

This content requires Adobe Flash Player version 8.0.0 or greater. Get Flash

ISBN: 978-1-4092-0337-7
Publisher: Lulu.com
Rights Owner: Valerie Poore
Copyright: © 2008  Standard Copyright License
Language: English
Country: Netherlands

Printed: 192 pages, 6" x 9", perfect binding, black and white interior ink

Download: 1 documents, 674 KB

Description:

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!


Stats:

Lulu Sales Rank: 8,877
Average customer rating:
  1. *
  2. *
  3. *
  4. *
  5. *
  6. *
2 votes
Please log in or sign up to rate this item.
Publishing Services

Have your own story to tell?

We've got publishing services to get you started.

Reviews:

Please log in or sign up to post a review.

Rebuilding more than a barge
  1. *
  2. *
  3. *
  4. *
  5. *
  6. *
5 Jun 2008 (updated 5 Jun 2008)
Ms. Poore’s overt story is one of renovation of an historic old barge in the Dutch antique harbor of Oude Haven. As a fellow bargée, I can relate to her love of these beautiful old boats, and the work involved keeping them maintained. Courageously, she rebuilds not only her barge but her life after divorce, discovering more about herself and her own capabilities. Well done and a fun read.
Fascinating and funny
  1. *
  2. *
  3. *
  4. *
  5. *
  6. *
25 Feb 2008 (updated 25 Feb 2008)
I so enjoyed this book. It reminded me of C'est La Folie by Michael Wright, even though the subject is totally different. Valerie Poore's style of self deprecating humour and the scrapes she gets into while she learns about living on a barge and how to be a skipper's mate are charming, heart warming, funny and also very educational. Half of me would love to try living on a boat but if it's as hard work as it sounds (especially all this scraping and painting the bottom lark), I don't think I would manage half as well as she did. Read it! Even if you never set foot on a boat, you'll love it.

[Click the preview to close]

Share this item

Lulu is an advocate for global consumer privacy rights, protection and security.
Member Agreement   |   Privacy Pledge