Ted Polet

I was born at the end of the baby boom and grew up in the austerity years of the 1950s, followed by the wild 1960s as a teenager in Amsterdam. Young people threw off the yoke of convention, smoked pot and fought with the police. I saw it happen at close quarters - in 1968 some classmates in what was a very good school even saw fit to show themselves with Mao's little red book! Luckily, despite all the havoc we had excellent teachers.

After obtaining my ‘A’ levels I went to study chemistry, but soon it became clear I had made a wrong choice. One of my parents' neighbors was a tanker captain, who suggested I'd go to sea. I followed his advice and changed to the Nautical College in Rotterdam in 1972. After a few years I got my certificates and went to sea as a Third Mate. Not every ship I sailed in was a happy one, but in general my recollections of that period are good.

Regrettably my seafaring career was cut short due to serious health trouble. I wasn't yet 27 and again stood empty-handed. Following convalescence I started a new career in ICT, eventually ending up doing organization modelling and quality management. I had a knack for that, but working in a big organization that continually reorganized eventually felt like the Sisyphus curse from Greek mythology, repeatedly having to lift a heavy rock up a slope and seeing it roll down again just as you think you're there.

Never again I was to experience the same job satisfaction I had at sea. Eventually, at 60 I opted for early retirement. The relief of not having to repeat the same aimless chores every day was immense. Soon I turned to writing fiction, in Dutch and English as I’m practically bilingual. And I still sail my 32 foot yacht every summer, which is reflected in my novels.

My author's website: www.tedpolet.com