One day you think you are on a set life path going in a certain direction and the next day there is a pivotal point where everything changes and you have a choice to make.
Gerald, age 56 and from Cardiff, hit a low point in his life and changed it into something incredible to mark this change in life direction - he bought a boat as his permanent, forever home, having never even driven one before.
And, unknown to him, saying goodbye to the land and hello to living on the water was going to help him through an even harder future chapter, recovering from a very serious illness, where his boat and the boating community were a "godsend".
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Gerald says feels he always had a hidden hankering for life on the water from childhood, having visited his uncle and his boat and remembering the peace and tranquillity of just being out on the water and wondering what it's like to actually live on a boat.
But it was only an unexpected change in circumstance and a chance encounter with a WalesOnline article about the barge Flatover Crest that reawakened the call of the water, otherwise Gerald recons he would have stayed as a landlubber his whole life.
He says: "I was looking for a place to live and I saw the article on WalesOnline about the boat moored in Penarth Marina for sale. So I went to view that boat and I took to it instantly and I thought 'this is wonderful!'. I knew I would need to learn to drive it but it gives you the freedom of moving your home around and a better environment around you." Read that article here.
Although the romantic notion of upping the anchor and sailing off to into the sunset for perfect solitude might be an instant picture people paint of living on a boat, Gerald says it is actually a friendly and sociable way of living and Penarth Marina is a thriving community.
He says: "I had no experience on the sea or owning a boat before and it was scary, and wondering will I fit in, but once you get out onto the water you feel like you belong here, and then you can't ever leave. And it's a great community down here, a really tightknit community where everybody looks out for each other."
And it's that boat community, his boat and the water location that Gerald believes were imperative to helping him through a traumatic and very serious illness.
He says: "It's the best place I ever could have been in my life to recover, this is the most tranquil place. When I was very ill the community looked after me, they came over and cooked for me, made sure I was ok.
"There wasn't a day when someone wasn't checking on me. I think if I was in a flat or house that wouldn't have happened so much, I think we've lost that, neighbours don't tend to do that so much now.
"I have no regrets at all, I couldn't have been anywhere else, circumstances in life pushed me into a situation, and I've never regretted deciding to live on a boat, I will never regret being here. I don't think I would have recovered from the illness if I wasn't here, this has been a Godsend, I couldn't imagine being at any other place."
For nomadic souls who love living on a boat and are spiritually connected to the water, the connection with other boat people too is always there as a strong, unspoken bond.
Gerald says: "It's not just about living on the water and sailing on the water, it's about being part of the boat itself and part of the boating community when you live on the water. It's very hard to explain but I don't think I could ever live on land again, once you look out every day, the water's different, the sky is different, the birds fly over - you're immersed in nature, I couldn't move back into a flat because it's fixed - it's all fixed.
"This is mobile and I can slip the lines and just take off. It's a sea-going barge so it's possible to go to France, and that's on the agenda in the not too distant future, and I will stay there for a few months."
It's this freedom and ability to move home instantly that is the main attraction for Gerald and surely for most people who call a boat their home.
Don't like the view? Move your home elsewhere or in Gerald's case, spin your boat around for a view that pleases you more. Don't like the neighbours? No problem, just go to another mooring or marina. Can't afford a holiday? Your boat is your floating, movable hotel.
Gerald says: "It's very easy to live somewhere else, as there are affiliated marinas. Boatfolk who operate Penarth Marina operate 10 marinas I think so, for example, if I wanted to go down to Portershead for a month then I could leave this berth and have a free berth there because it's an affiliated marina.
"Because I'm a full resident 'liveaboard' I pay for a certain amount of time on the marina and then you can use all the different marinas under the same umbrella."
The price to pay to moor at most marinas Gerald says depends on the size of the boat, he says it can be quite expensive but cheaper than renting a two-bed home in Penarth, most of which don't come with a waterside view from every window.
Gerald says: "It's quite expensive, it works out at about £400 a metre so I'm 20 metres long unfortunately so it works out at above £8,000 per year to moor here at Penarth Marina and be fully resident but that said, try and find a two bed apartment in Penarth like-for-like, that amount you're going to be paying that kind of money anyway.
"And at Penarth Marina all the facilities are included. The Flatover Crest has a shower on board, a range cooker, kitchen, a log fire so I don't need any of their facilities but they have got a laundry room, a shower block, and somewhere for a pint, it's nice and everything is close at hand."
Most people have a similar reaction when Gerald reveals that he lives on a barge in a marina and it usually involves the word 'wow', but to be the captain of your own ship there are important aspects to living on a boat to take seriously.
Gerald is clear that learning to drive the boat, your home, is imperative before even contemplating exploring the waterways of Britain.
He says: "I took a powerboat course and I've done other courses; you can't just start a boat up and think you can take it out without any navigation skills, you need training and experience, you need a skill set.
"You could get on it, go out on the water, fog could descend at any moment and you need to know where you are, your point of reference, you need your navigation skills to come into effect then rather than get into trouble and rely on the RNLI."
Another aspect of boat dwelling Gerald says must be considered is maintenance, as there is with a house, but boats come with specific challenges, especially as at least a third of the home is permanently submerged in water.
He says: "You can't just turn up here, live on the boat and that's it, there's always maintenance to do. Someone once said to me that boat stands for Bring On Another Thousand! They tend to haemorrhage money but if they are looked after, they kind of run themselves, as long as you maintain your boat it will hold its value, there's no reason for it to depreciate."
Maintaining a boat is more complex than a house Gerald thinks, and he should surely know as he's a builder by trade. He says: "There are so many mechanical things on the boat that you need to stay on top of, and if something breaks down on the marine side of it, you need to get someone who is experienced in boats, which can be costly, you need a maintenance wallet for experts.
"But I've been fortunate, I haven't had many problems at all, very few, and again the community helps - there's always somebody who has knowledge, the knowledge down here is immense, the boat community is so helpful, what could be a panic with a problem is not - they've got all the answers and advice."
Anyone who wants to make a boat their next home Gerald says they must do some sums first. He recommends having a separate budget for maintenance, working out the annual mooring fees and the size of the boat, working out how longevity at the mooring - the amount of time to spend there - and legal enquiries about the rules of living at the marina full-time is imperative.
For anyone who feels seasick in the bath maybe living on a boat is not the best option but Gerald says the unpredictable Welsh weather doesn't really affect him and his barge at all.
He says: "I do see yachts opposite me clattering each other when the wind comes across, but this boat is 36 tonnes so it doesn't tend to move a lot, the wind doesn't catch it. The weather could be severe- it's been minus six outside and there are sheets of ice across the marina, and it's nice and toasty in here - people say 'oh you must be freezing on your boat', but no, nothing like that, it's warm and peaceful and cosy."
The Flatover Crest has a central heating system on board that runs off a diesel generator, but Gerald tends to use separate oil filled heaters and loves having the log fire on in the winter as it keeps his boat warm overnight.
There are two bedrooms, an open-plan living area, an ensuite shower room and a bathroom onboard and facilities to deal with waste. Gerald says: "Every two to three months you take it to the pump out station, the waste station just outside the lock gates, and you just plug it in, it goes into a machine and then you just come back.
"There's 1,000 litres of fresh water on board and it stores 1,000 litres of waste. I use two types of fuel, one for domestic use for cooking and heating, one that the boat uses when moving, going out to sea."
When it comes to space, Gerald thinks moving to a boat is a big advantage because the smaller size actually forces a streamlining of life.
He says: "You don't take clutter with you, you're not tempted to take it with you. When I downsized, there were only certain things I took with me. Yet there's a multitude of space on the boat, you've got wardrobes, you've got cupboard space, but you've just got to be choosy. But I think it's great, you've got less clutter around, it looks neater, it looks better, but you don't have to be strict, there's ample space."
But someone new to living on a boat must also think about what happens to everything when they set sail. Gerald says: "When you're going to sea, you have to think, 'ok, I've got to strap that down, I've got to tie this up', and things like glasses have got to be put in bubble wrap if you're going away for any length of time. The boat is not just to live on, it is going to go to sea, so you have to work around that."
The time came when Gerald wanted to take his home out on the water for the first time. Having completed a number of courses he felt he was competent but wisely asked his boat friend Phil to accompany him on his maiden voyage, and it really had to be Phil as he had a unique history with the Flatover Crest.
Gerald says: "Phil used to drive this barge - in fact, he drove it for the BBC TV show Casualty. This barge was featured on Casualty, for Max and Zoe's wedding. It actually blew up over Cardiff Bay, so it's got a bit of history with the BBC as well!
"They hired it, before I owned it, took it to the bay, took the top back cabin off and built it with wood and sugar glass so they could use pyrotechnics to blow the top part of it up. You'll see on the programme that a firework lights a pot of paint up, Zoe gets pushed overboard, Max runs back down stairs and he's toasted inside the boat."
Gerald's first trip out on his floating home with Phil was to Jackson's Bay just around the corner from Penarth Marina and since that first trip he's been further along the coast and across the water, including Tenby and Portishead, and he couldn't be happier.
He says: "Now, I could not imagine coming home to a flat and closing the door and that is it. It's very hard to explain but I don't think I could ever live on land again. I've been here for two years now and it just gets more attractive and tranquil as time passes, once you're on the water, it's so addictive."
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