The Water Gypsy Story
Thank you so much for visiting.
I have a long held love for simple yet tasty food and in particular, tapas style grazing. This was introduced to me in 1995 when I ran a small cafe in Ibiza. From 2004-2006 I worked for Tulip Star Hotel Group where I fell head first in love with Asian food.
With a few friends already living on the canal I had always been curious about the life style and was drawn to a more off-grid, outdoor way of life. As Covid hit in 2019, I was 52 years old, with a house I couldn’t afford and spiralling debt.
A sense of urgency started to emerge that was irrepressible.
A ‘now or never’ eureka moment blossomed and I started wondering if combining my love of cooking and running a business on the canal was an achievable goal. I started planning and sold the house and mostly everything in it.
Terror and thrills, all at once.
The Water Gypsy is a 60x12ft wide beam, made by Collingwood Boat Builders in 2018. I purchased her in 2021 and I have been renovating ever since, due to the largely empty interior and paint thirsty exterior.
Having never driven any kind of boat before, I had to learn how to cruise and maintain a colossal 29 tonne steel vessel, which predictably is not straight as forward as you’d imagine.
Living on a boat is not an easy life. There has been many tears, but it has also brought so many life enriching experiences that wouldn’t have been available to me on land.
With a few friends already living on the canal I had always been curious about the life style and was drawn to a more off-grid, outdoor way of life. As Covid hit in 2019, I was 52 years old, with a house I couldn’t afford and spiralling debt.
A sense of urgency started to emerge that was irrepressible.
A ‘now or never’ eureka moment blossomed and I started wondering if combining my love of cooking and running a business on the canal was an achievable goal. I started planning and sold the house and mostly everything in it.
Terror and thrills, all at once.
