In 1995 (when in their early 40's) Nick & Irene moved aboard their first narrowboat - a desire for a change in lifestyle - and they haven't looked back since. From 1999 to 2001 they managed Gourmet Cruises (a Restaurant & Trip narrowboat business), on the Basingstoke Canal in Surrey. The 72ft restaurant boat was licensed to seat 47 diners, requiring skippers to be qualified with a Maritime & Coastguard Agency Boatmaster's Licence. A legal requirement now, even for hotelboat skippers. As the principal 'Boatmaster' at Gourmet Cruises, Nick was involved with staff training to Boatmaster level as well as, of course, spending many many hours at the helm. Irene, with a background in hotel management, undertook the catering and hosting aspect of Gourmet Cruises. Before living aboard Nick was a police sergeant, having specialized in police training - skills now applied to narrowboat training, which is a secondary business we still operate. If you are thinking of moving aboard your own narrowboat to continuously cruise the canal network, you could follow the 'Consultancy/Training' link in the left panel menu. 

So, Nick and Irene’s current lifestyles now combine catering, boat handling and training skills, with their love of narrowboating. Irene is also an accomplished boater, and very accomplished at locks (see photo on the left). Of course Irene can multitask, so she is in charge of the catering side of the business (trust me, it's better that Nick sticks to the steering).