Boat Search in Belgium: Canalboat Nr. 4 and exploring Antwerp & Brugge

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 06:41:26 +0000

Join me on the next step of my canal boat journey as I visit Canalboat Number 4, a beautifully maintained Luxe Motor with a chic interior and plenty of charm. But this episode is about more than just boats. Along the way, I explore two of Europe’s prettiest cities: Antwerp, with its stunning Gothic cathedral and world-famous train station, and Bruges, a fairytale town full of medieval treasures and winding canals.

We take a slow moment to appreciate the architecture, history, and beauty of Belgium while still keeping one eye on the search for my future floating home.

If you’re curious about canal boat life, buying a canal boat, or simply love slow travel and discovering hidden gems, this one’s for you.

ROOTS ON WATER | Episode 3

⇩ FOLLOW THE FREE WEEKLY REFIT UPDATES ⇩

Want to follow the messy reality of refitting a 100-year-old steel boat as it happens? Every Wednesday, I release a raw and unedited update on Patreon, sharing what I’m working on aboard Anna Maria right now. All the problems, progress and decisions that haven’t made it into the finished episodes yet.

► https://www.patreon.com/collection/2211250

⇩ JOIN THE SUPPORT CREW ⇩

Want to skip ahead by a few episodes and find out what happens next? Join the support crew for early and ad-free access to the finished films, behind-the-scenes stories and monthly online Galley Chats. Join the lovely community that makes these videos possible!

► PATREON:
http://www.patreon.com/WhiteSpotPirates

► YOUTUBE CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkYfFeySHGN4DPrOc9So7PA/join

► OR CHIP IN FOR A COLD ONE FOR ME OR A TREAT FOR BOGA via PAYPAL:
https://www.paypal.me/whitespotpirates

ABOUT ROOTS ON WATER

Roots on Water begins with a search: for the right Dutch barge, but also for the kind of life afloat I want to create next. The series follows me, a woman in her mid-40s, as I try to understand what I’m looking for, explore very different historic boats and eventually find Anna Maria, a 21-metre Dutch tjalk built in 1913.

After buying her, I have to learn how to handle this massive old canal boat and bring her through the narrow waterways, bridges and locks of the Netherlands to Germany. Anna Maria was converted into a liveaboard barge in the 1970s, and I originally believed I could keep much of her existing interior. But as more and more problems reveal themselves, that plan begins to unravel and I make the slightly terrifying decision to tear everything apart and take on an enormous DIY boat refit.

From searching for a floating home to navigating Anna Maria and rebuilding her from the steel hull up, this is an honest, developing story of canal boat life: difficult decisions, new skills, unexpected setbacks and the small victories that keep me moving forward.

⇩ FOLLOW THE JOURNEY ⇩

► INSTAGRAM:
http://www.instagram.com/WhiteSpotPirates

► FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/WhiteSpotPirates

► WEBSITE:
http://www.whitespotpirates.com

⇩ START AT THE BEGINNING OF MY SOLO-SAILING STORY ⇩

Before Anna Maria, there was Karl: the sailboat I bought, rebuilt and eventually sailed away on alone. Untie The Lines follows more than a decade of solo sailing, DIY boat repairs and life aboard, including the fear, freedom, breakdowns and beautiful encounters that shaped both my journey and this channel.

► BINGE-WATCH UNTIE THE LINES FROM EPISODE ONE:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXRq1t-_HOXvL6L6lGac5YAloge4jiLRA

Thank you to everyone who watches, comments, shares these films or supports their creation. Many of you have been travelling alongside me for years, and I’m incredibly grateful that you are here for this very different adventure on the water, too.

And always remember: if I can do it, you can do it, too.

Lots of ocean love and rusty smiles,
Nike 🧜‍♀️