Kiwi Afloat

Published 2005 – Doris Coppell is an 82-year-old Auckland native who's spent a lifetime in love with the water. Almost 20 of those years were spent exploring the English canals. This odyssey began in 1970, when Doris and her husband, Alex, realized their shared ambition. "It was a cold rain-thrashed February night in 1970 when my husband and I, enjoying a cosy conventional winter's evening by a blazing fire, somehow began discussing boats....'You want a boat and I want a boat, so let's have a boat,' I can remember saying." What followed for Doris was a remarkable adventure – hilarious situations, colourful characters and beautiful settings. As Doris noted, "As soon as you own a boat...you become obsessed by boats." Kiwi Afloat is a testament to Doris's extraordinary obsession. Beautifully written, this book is a wonderful yarn for anyone with an adventuring spirit.