Nice to hear that story about a writing boat captain.
I actually started out a serious attempt to get my first novel written ( nanowrimo last november ) and this turned into a children's book for now.
It's about a velociraptor called Hypersensitivosaurus who ( through his interactions with other creatures / animals ) levels up to SuperZENsitivosaurus. A story about mindfulness, meant for both kids and adults.
Cool to hear that you like Amsterdam. I lived there for about a year in 2009/2010 but my favorite Dutch city is probably Utrecht, then Rotterdam. Now I'm temporary stuck in Eindhoven ( where the brand Philips originates and soccer team PSV ) and it appears to be a pretty nice city too ( lots of green! )
Have a good one,
Vincent