Day Eighty Eight...

Hmm. I think Lesley and Mrs L know me too well...

I got up nice and early this morning. I didn't really want to, but the missus was up early and she is crap at doing it quietly. Whereas I lay out my clothes the night before in the spare room and leave quietly, she charges around like a bull in a china shop.

So I was up before 0800 this morning. I cleaned and packed my sea fishing gear, which includes a change of clothes in case it gets wet, and headed off to Brighton. I was off to the canoe shop to price up the gear and get a look at the stuff for real. I told the guy that I'd ben losing weight, and he suggested that it would be a good way to lose even more. The then offered me a very good deal. Well, as I'm sure you've already guessed I went ahead and bought the kayak. I also got a PFD (a fancy life jacket), a paddle and some roof bars. I got all of that for under £700, so it felt like a good deal.

I then headed out east to Seaford to have a sail in the English Channel. I probably could have picked easier places to start. Launching into surf is very hard and I got pretty wet and I continually fell out. However, once I got going and away from the shore it was great. I paddled around for about 45 minutes before I got tired and decided to head back. I had no food or drink with me and it was baking hot. Landing the boat was pretty easy. I just went full steam into the beach and ended halfway up the shingle.

Loading the kayak by myself was very hard. It's pretty heavy and my roof bars are at eye level. To avoid scratching the car you have to lift the whole thing above your head and drop it on the bars.. Easier said than done. Although the boat is only 30kgs it is very long and the wind blows it in odd directions.

I got changed into my spare clothes and drove home. On the way the missus called me and asked how I was. I told her how very special she was, and how much I loved her. Almost instantly she asked if I had bought a kayak. It looks like she also knows me too well. It'll be a while until I am confident enough on it to go fishing, but it was great fun today. I did get a bit tired after a while. Oddly, I was tired in my legs. My thighs and groin muscles were far more tired that my arms and chest. I didn't expect to be using my legs, but apparently that's where a lot of your paddle power comes from.

Although I slapped on the factor 30 it was all washed off with the repeated dunkings and now I find my neck and arms a little warm. I'll need to drink more to combat any dehydration.

In other news, I have just set up a huge direct debit from my current account into my savings account. I anticipate this is my last big spend for a while. I need to lock the money away or it'll be gone!