Day One Hundred and Thirty Eight...

First thing this morning I went to B+Q to pick up a file. This was the last tool I needed before attacking my kayak. I decided to install my fish finder today.

With everything I needed I wandered off to the garage and prepared everything. I was quite nervous for a couple of reasons. I was drilling holes in a boat. This doesn't ever sound like a good idea to me. Secondly, I was fitting a bloody expensive piece of electronic equipment and I had to get it right.

The first thing I had to do was build a battery housing to store a largish 12V lead acid battery. I also had to add fuses so that it wouldn't blow the circuits. Whilst doing it my watch shorted the battery leads and the sparks flew for about a second. That was a wake up call. It actually spot welded a few of the link in my watch strap and left a mark on the strap. My watch is an expensive Breitling, so it was a bit worrying for a second. There was no damage to the watch internals. However, where the strap actually melted it also burnt my skin. This was not a good start.

Once that was done I started to do the drilling and filling on the kayak. The first thing to do was drill holes for the mounting screws for the display and then drill and file out a larger hole for the cables. Once that was done I glued in the battery unit inside the kayak and mounted the transducer (sonar sensor). I then added plenty of silicone sealant around all my holes and screwed the display on.

I connected up the battery and lo and behold it worked straight away. Of course I will not know if the sonar works until I get it on the water, but the map showed me where I was, so the GPS works.

Here's the shot from sitting in the kayak.



I finished in good time to have a play on the computer and watch my team get hammered by New Zealand in the world cup. I'm now off to iron my shirts for the week and go to bed early with a movie.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Seven...

On Saturday we had a lie in. We had loads of plans for the day, but I mostly sat in front of the computer doing work or in front of the TV watching the rugby.

In the afternoon we went for a little shopping and the missus bought a few pairs of trousers. I didn't see anything I fancied. I also have a problem with spending money on clothes that I don't think will fit me in a month or two. I like to get years out of my clothing purchases.

I also have no idea what kind of clothes I should be wearing. For the last few years all of my clothes have come from M+S or High and Mighty as that's all that fits. Now that I can chose anything I am a bit lost. I need some style counselling.

I've never been really into fashion or style, but I guess I better get a little clued up or I'll look like an arse.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Six...

I was planning on getting a few things I needed for the kayak and then starting work on fitting some of the bits and bobs. However, I couldn't find any of the things I needed locally. Once I realised I would never get them in London I gave up and decided to go sea fishing. I checked the weather and the tides and decided that Brighton was the place to go.

I packed up my gear and headed south with a couple of bars and lots of water.

On arrival in Brighton I was gutted to see that the sea was much choppier than the forecast had predicted. The marina arms were closed as the waves were crashing over them.

Instead I decided to go for a wander and, quite by accident, founf a chandlers that had the exact things I needed for the kayak. A few minutes later I was leaving with the correct adhiesives and sealants that would fix all the right bits to the kayak.

By the time I got home it was too late to actually fit the stuff, so I watched the rugby and went to bed early to watch a film.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Five...

I awok early and looked to get ready for fishing. UNfortunately the wind was too high and I didn't want to risk it in the kayak. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I went back to bed. THe missus decided she was too ill for work so we just had a sleep in for a while.

Eventually I got up and checked in to my work email. I then found that my fishfinder had been delivered to the office, so I decided to pop in to get it. Big mistake. It took me hours to get out again.

Once I escaped I quickly called in to Argos. I need a cordless drill as the drill I have will not work in my powerless garage. Argos sell one for £7.95. It is junk, but all I need it for is drilling through the plastic of the kayak, so I got the cheapest available.

All I need to source now is some of the correct sealant. So far nowhere I have checked in London sell it. I am hoping I don't have to take a trip out of town tomorrow to hold of some.

So, although I'm unlikey to be going fishing tomorrow, I am planning on spending a few hours "pimping my 'yak".

I need to go now and drink a lot of water. I never seem to keep on top of it an days I spend at home. I've probably only had about 1.5 litres today, so I guess I'll be spending a lot of time between the kitchen and the bathroom for the rest of the night.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Four...

I started a course tonight. To keep myself safe on the kayak I decided to get a bit of knowledge on the theory of the sea. I need to understand the tides, charts, buoys etc... I found out through a friend that a training provider does courses at my work, so I have enrolled in the RYA Day Skipper course.

These run every Wednesday until December when I have a couple of exams. I'm looking forward to it a lot. Last night we learned how to use the charts, get bearings, judge distance and use the plotter and dividers. To be honest, most of that information is irrelevant when you have a GPS, but it's fun to learn new stuff.

This makes the day very long. I didn't get home until nearly eleven, at which point I had to quickly neck down two shakes. The missus has the flu and I am starting to get a sore throat. However, I have booked Thursday and Friday off work to go fishing and hopefully fix my GPS and Fishfinder to the kayak.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Three... weigh in

Today was my weigh in. I've been deliberately avoiding exercise to see if it will make a difference on my weekly loss. Previously there has been a correlation between no exercise and high weight loss. Whilst this makes no sense it is what the figures say. So this week I got the tube every day and didn't do any extra activities.

This week I lost 4lbs which is fine, but not great. I'm guessing that the exercise or lack of it doesn't really matter. THe plan was to follow last week with a lot of activity before the next weigh in. However, this week looks wet, and I can't be bothered cycling in. So the experiment will have to wait until next week.

My total is now 105lbs. This latst weight loss also brings me into the 16 stones bracket. I used to think that around 16 stones would be a healthy weight, but I am still carrying a lot of fat, so I'll continue to lose for a few stones yet.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Two...

I was quite looking forward to Monday. I deleted all my old routine meetings from my diary and decided to rebuild it with the help of my PA. I gave her a list of everything I needed and she just magically disappeared and fixed it all.

I was unsure as to how things would work with a PA, but so far it seems like a great labour saving device.

Diet wise there is less and less to report. It has been so stable for so long it becomes hardly worth mentioning. Three shakes and a bar per day and that's it. It is strange that so many people are commenting on my weight loss calling it a great acheivement and here's me carrying on thinking it's a doddle.

Day One Hundred and Thirty One...

The missus left the flat this morning before 6am on her way to Buckingham Palace to start her charity cycle run to Windsor Castle. I was expecting a call around 11am to go and pick her up, but unstead she finished before 10, so I had to go early. She managed to cycle the 45 miles in under three hours, so well done her.

After dropping her and her friends off in London I drove to Southampton to go to the boat show. I decided to go and see if I could pick ap a few bits and bobs for the kayak.

I got a hand held VHF radio (think walkie talkie) and a combination GPS/Fishfinder. They didn't have the fishfinder I wanted in stock, but I paid for it and should receive it midweek. The boat show was huge. There were so many displays and stands for anything to do with boating. From huge engines, to kayaks, to boat carpeting the show had it all. I did realise just how rich you have to be to have one of these things. Even some of the cheap ones were £200K. The weather was lovely for most of the day, but as I left is started to rain, so I had to run for my car.

The journey back up the M3 and M4 was awful. It took an hour and a half to get down and three and a half to get back.

Anyway, I've got to go and iron my shirts for the week and massage the missus' stiff legs.

Day One Hundred and Thirty...

I was really looking forward to the weekend, so I got up early and got my fishing tackle ready. When fly fishing all of your kit fits into you waistcoat. Unfortunately mine is now far too large for me, so the first stop before going to the lake was to get a new one.

I tried on a large expecting it to fit, but it was American sized so I ended up going for a medium. It feels really weird buying medium clothes. It would be a little tight under a jacket, but in no time at all it will fit me perfectly. They are pretty expensive bits of kit, so I didn't want to buy it twice.

It was a lovely day, but the fishing was hard. I could see all the fish shoaled up going round in circles, but they were not interested in anything I presented them with. When it gets warm the trout can become completely disinterested in feeding and it looked like on of those days. After a couple of hours I gave up and went home to watch the rugby.

At night I photographed a lot of my older fishing gear and placed it on ebay. If I get what I expect then I'll be about £500 to the good, so I have my fingers crossed.

I should also place my waistcoat and jacket up for sale too.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Nine...

Well, what a week.

Today I got my letter of confirmation stating that I was the owner of the land an all my plans were back on track. This will not be the end of it, and I expect a lot of grief from one particular family member, but legally it's game set and match to me.

It was my first week in the new job. I'm still feeling my feet and not quite sure about things, but so far it's been a blast.

I've been neglecting the blog this week, and also not catching up and commenting on others as much as I'd like. Hopefully I can get some more time to catch up over the weekend.

I'm planning a fishing trip somewhere tomorrow and on Sunday I have to get up early as the missus is doing a sponsored cycle from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle. The route is over 45 miles long, so I am expecting to drop her off and pick her up.

The diet is going as well as it could be and I managed to get to 17 stones on my morning weigh in, so hopefully I can make it into the 16s soon.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Eight...

Work was been much the same as the rest of the week. I am definitely getting more comments about my weight. A few of the lassies at work have started to say nice things too. Previously it's mostly been blokes that have commented which surprised me, but now the fairer sex are also paying me compliments.

I was talking about my weight loss and my promotion with my brother on the phone when he said, do you think it's the weight you've lost or the promotion that is generating the comments from the ladies. He's a such a cynical bastard.

When I got home I didn't do much. I was pretty tired so we went to bed early and watched a film. It was the second Pirates of the Caribbean film. It was pants.

I read Lesley's comment today congratulating me for not eating when I was stressed. I have to admit the thought never even entered my head. But it got me thinking. Warning, the following is just a brain dump and may be complete bollocks.

It's funny, Lighterlife tries to make you face up to your emotional need for food. I've never believed I over ate because I was depressed. I ate and drank too much because I liked it, was too greedy, and didn't know when to stop. I've never knowingly binged because I was unhappy.

Maybe I am deluding myself, but I'm trying to be as honest as I can. When I read people's blog posts about them eating because they're unhappy, or because certain moods trigger cheating, I struggle to empathise.

For me it boils down to excuses. I've never wanted or needed an excuse to eat whatever I like. If I wanted to have it, I just did. I've never felt the need to justify it.

Having grown up with alcoholism I know that alcoholics live their life actively looking for an excuse to drink. They can then blame something or someone else for their relapses. Ask yourself are you in that boat?

Day One Hundred and Twenty Seven...

At work in the morning I got confirmation that my land deal had been completed on Skye and there is no possibility that I can lose what I though I had. I should get the documentation in the next few days. Apparently it has been legally mine since the start of the month. So, the developer that is drilling bore holes in preparation of a planning application is in for a bit of a shock.

I also met my new PA today. I've never had a PA before, so that'll take a bit of getting used to. I've also been told I must get a Blackberry. I've been resisting one for a year or so, but it looks like I have no choice now.

Now that I am going to work in clothes that fit me the compliments are coming in thick and fast. It's great.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Six... weigh in

I phoned the department on Skye dealing with my land acquisition first thing in the morning. I explained that it looked like a developer was building on my land and I was confused. He reassured me that he'd had no application to sell any plots on the land and that it would be mine before anyone would be able to sell it. This is good news, but I expect to be getting angry phone calls from irate folk who thought they were going to make a quick buck at my expense.

So with that sorted I drove to work. I had to take the car as I was heading to a supplier meeting in the afternoon and I give a handful of folk a lift to save the company in train and taxi expenses. The meeting went well and finished early so I made it home about 4.30. I did an hour or so work on the PC and then just played on Facebook. I finally succumbed and signed up to it. Almost everyone at work uses Facebook and a few of my friends use it to arrange all of their social events, so I ended up having to sign up.

I stuck my kayak photos up and got some really great comments from folks who haven't seen me for a while which was great. Apparently I look like 007! Well, it made me laugh.

It was also my weigh in tonight. I lost 4lbs. This breaks me though a couple of barriers. I broke through the 7 stones lost barrier and also I joined the century club. I have now lost 101lbs.

Yee ha!

Day One Hundred and Twenty Five...

It's been a couple of days since I last posted, but as you may have guessed from previous posts I've been a little busy.

On Monday morning I woke up a few minutes before the alarm and quickly showered and dressed. I dressed smart for work with my new well fitting shirts and my new shoes. I decided to get the tube to work so that I didn't crumple all my clothes in my cycle bag. I was presenting to the team and senior management so I wanted to look as good as I could.

This was the day that my department was created and the first my new team would hear of it. The day passed in a blur and everything went well. There was a management drink 'wash-up' at the end of the day where we compared notes and had a beer or two. Of course, I stayed away from the nibbles and only drank water.

The day was a success and all the preparation seemed to pay off. Now the hard work actually starts, but I am really looking forward to the challenge.

At night I got a really disturbing call that a family member had sold some of my newly acquired land and a local developer was building a house. I was very worried about this but there was nothing I could do about it as it was late at night.

The paper work for my ownership hasn't come through yet, so technically it would be possible that this may happen. This would be a major headache as it is in the way of where I want to build a house myself.

I went to bed pretty angry on what should have been a great day.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Four...

Tonight I've managed to finish all the work I needed to for tomorrow. I also managed a trip into town to put my watch in for repairs and watched 4 matched of rugby. There were no susprises, and my team, Scotland, had a fairly decent game against rank outsiders Portugal.

So tomorrow I start my new job. Much more responsibility and a far bigger team. It's what I've been asking for a long time, but now the enormity of it is setting in. I will be the Head of Operations for just about the biggest website on the planet as well as be responsible for the operational delivery of 'the red button' on TV. Holy shit.

I've ironed my new shirts to get the horible new creases out of them, ironed my slightly too large for me trousers and buffed up my new shoes. I've really only ever worn casual clothes at work which I could just about get away with in my last role, but now I have to tow the line and get into some shirts. When I lose all the weight I need to I'll get some nice shirts made to measure for me, but in the mean time M&S will do.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Three...

I awoke early this morning. All the stuff happening at work was running through my head. I got up, did a little pottering around the house before loading up the car for the missus and watching the New Zealand vs Italy rugby match on the TV.

When the match was done I caught the tube into town so that I could pick some stuff up in Maplin. I also wanted to get some shirts and shoes. I got some of the stuff I needed from Maplin, but they didn't have everything, so another trip will be needed.

I then walked to Selfridges to see about some shirts. On the way I passed Marks and Spencer's so I decided to see what their shirts were like. I picked out one I liked in a size XL and L and took the pair to the changing rooms. I tried on the large first. It was strange trying on smaller clothes, they feel different to put on. It fitted. It wasn't exactly roomy, but there was no clinging anywhere. I was chuffed. I left the changing room and picked out another four shirts.

When I got to Selfridges I went to the watch counter. About 18 months ago I treated myself to a rather expensive Breitling watch which recently has been losing about two minutes a week. It's becoming a liability. The woman I spoke to me suggested that this was normal, but I wasn't having it. I spoke to the watch repaired and he said to return with the guarantee and they'd send it off to get it retuned. I'm hoping that will fix it. However, I'll be watchless for weeks and that pisses me off. I hate not wearing a watch.

I had a look at the shoes there too, but they were a bit too poncy for me. I have size twelve feet and this seasons return to winkle picker styled shoes look even more ridiculous on me. Instead I went to Russell & Bromley where I picked out a nice looking pair. They always seem to have great quality shoes in there. They are a bit pricey, but they last forever. It's nice to go into a shop where they actually care about which shoes you buy and if they fit.

Tonight I mostly watched TV. I caught a repeat of the England vs USA match and watched a program about American crab fisherman working off Alaska. It looked about the most dangerous job in the world. It think the missus has decided to stay over at her mum's tonight, so I'll probably go to bed early myself. I wanted to get some work done today, but I haven't. Tomorrow I must get it complete.

Day One Hundred and Twenty Two...

Work was as busy as I thought, but very productive. I didn't get everything done, but there's always Saturday and Sunday. There was a weird feeling around the office as it's the last day before the big announcements. These changes are very carefully managed and myself and the other leaders have been very carefully briefed about what we can say and how we deliver our presentations. It's been a very interesting process.

Tonight I came home, did a little on the computer and then watched the first match of the rugby world cup. I was a great match with Argentina beating one of the favourites, France.

We've got a few French mates, so a couple of piss taking text messages were sent.

I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. It all depends on whether the missus goes away in the car or not. I may start to make some modifications to the kayak. I need to fit a battery unit to power my GPS and Fishfinder. However, I have no cordless tools and I have no power in my garage, so I may need to get a new drill. I have to go to Maplin anyway, so if I can find a big one in London I don't have to drive to I'll stock up tomorrow.

I forgot to have lunch today. It wasn't until I was on the way home that I realised I had gone without. As soon as I got home I knocked back two shakes and waited a couple of hours until my last one. It is still a little bizzarre to me that I never get hungry.

Day One Hundred and Twenty One...

I got to work nice and early this morning. I had an early meeting planned so I was up and out the door and on my bike. Unluckily for me it seemed a lot of other people at work had the same idea and it took me about 15 minutes to find an empty shower. I ended up being late for my first meeting. After that it was just more of the same. Once I start late, my chain of meetings all cascade into each other and I'm late for the rest of the day. I even had to have my bar in a meeting.

The weekend's weather looks great, so I thought of heading out in the kayak. Unfortunately the missus is off to her mum's and is taking the car, so I've no chance of that. I've been deliberately avoiding meeting the mother in law since I started the diet. We always go there at Christmas and my target is to be finished my weight loss by then. I think she'll be delighted when she sees me. The missus' dad died of diabetes and other weight related issues, so I think this will be one less worry.

I have around five stone left to lose. If I lost the weight as fast as Lighterlife says I should then I'd be done by then, but if I lose at the speed I am at the moment then it will take well past the new year. I really do not want to do Christmas on food packs, but I will not break abstinence. If I'd thought about it fully I should have started the programme a few months before I did, but I was lazy.

When I tell people I still have five stone to lose they simply can't believe it. I saw an old friend today for the first time in three months. His eyes nearly fell out of his head. He told me I looked like a difference person and seemed genuinely concerned when I said I was going down to between 12.5 and 13 stones as my ideal weight. I think people equate you size with your personality and worry that if your mass goes so will a bit of what they like about you.

One guy at work has repeated told me I look gaunt. I don't know why. I really don't. I have a lot of weight to lose before there's a risk of that. Everyone has been great. My team are a bit bemused and probably bored that everyone who comes past my desk brings the subject up.

I've just done a to do list of things I need to be finished by Monday. I have four job descriptions to write. I have two presentations and a list of potential questions and answers to prepare. I have two spreadsheets of staff grades, salaries and positions to clear up. I have a budgeting proposal to finish. I have three requests for IT services to write to go to tender. On top of all of that I have 5.5 hours of meetings tomorrow. So I guess I'll be working a lot this weekend.

Maybe it's a blessing the missus is away in the car.

Day One Hundred and Twenty... weigh in

My weigh in is a day late this week as the counsellor wasn't around yesterday. We all for an extra day's food and turned up today.

I was quite relieved not to have a weigh in yesterday as I was definitely on for a record low. As it turned out it was still pretty poor. I lost 3lbs this week taking my total loss to 97lbs.

After I cycled home I deliberately didn't drink anything as I knew my loss was small this week and I didn't want any extra weight at all. If I'd drunk a normal amount of water I reckon I'd have lost maybe only 1lb this week. So the trend of the more exercise I do the less I lose had kicked in again. I'm not going to stop the exercise in the near future, so I'm hoping that my body give up holding the fat and I can get back to some serious losses.

At work I had my photo taken for some award thing that I don't really understand. I put on a smart shirt that was well pressed before I packed in into my cycle bag. However, when I got to work I found that it was massive on me. So I walked around wearing a tent all day.

The missus has just arrived in from her work trip, so I better go and say hello.

Day One Hundred and Nineteen...

I reread some of my earlier blog posts tonight. One of the things that meant a lot was the first time someone who didn't know about my diet mentioned that I'd lost weight. I still get enjoyment out of it, but now it's getting a bit dull. I answer the same set of questions three to four times a day.

I don't mind, but this programme does take over every part of your life. All of my thoughts are around keeping on the straight and narrow or working out how maintenance will work for me. What I'd like to do is be able to banish all thoughts of food and the diet so it becomes incidental to my life. Then when I finish abstinence I'm not going to simply change my focus to food and screw everything up.

Today I had a guy tell me that I was an inspiration as he's been looking at losing weight. This isn't the first time I've been told I've been an ispiriation due to my weight loss, but so far I've noticed no difference in those I've inspired.

There was a tube strike in London today so half the department turned up late and left early. I got on my high horse since I cycle in and am unaffected. However, it did piss me off that people didn't make an extra effort to get in on time. It's not the company's fault that people's journeys takes longer and they shouldn't have to pay. We're far too soft though, and since all of the other managers were letting their staff go I didn't have a leg to stand on, but still, I had a good grumble. I'm definitely turning into a grumpy old man.

The missus is in Belgium tonight with work and is just about to call to wish me night night, so I better go.

Day One Hundred and Eighteen...

I seem to be getting back to my usual sleeping patterns and hace started waking early again. This morning I quickly got up, cycled to work, showered and prepared for my first meeting.

I turned up to find that nobody else had arrived at work yet. I wasn't disappointed as this gives me time to get some work done. I've got an urgent to do list as long as my arm and no time to complete it. I'm guessing I'll have to put in a few extra hours this week. Other than the usual Monday rush it was a pretty good day. I had a meeting with one of the senior managers who couldn't believe that I'd lost so much weight and was still alive.

The cycle in and out of work is getting so much faster than it was. I'm not sure if this is because I am lighter or because I am getting fitter. The clever money would be on both. The speed I take the hills on the return journey is almost twice as fast as my forst attempts.

At home I continued the washing catch up and did a little documentation for work. We've got big announcements on a restructuring in a week, so I have a hard deadline for completion.

Thanks for the positive comments folks, I've had a great week and I'm hoping this one will be the same.

Day One Hundred and Seventeen...

For some reason I awoke early this morning and couldn't return to sleep. I gave up about 8am and had a shower. The missus was waking as I left the house to clean the kayal and the car.

After a while she appeared on her way out for a run with her friends. I'd just finished washing everything and said I'd be going out for a bit.

I then went into central London. I wanted to look at a few things in town. Note, I said look, not buy. Anyway, about an hour into looking around a few shops I get an unusual number call me on my mobile. It was the missus, she gone off expecting me to still be around when she got back and was locked out.

So I had to stop my visit and head home. I was quite interested to see what size I was in various shops, but I thought it better to appease the missus and head back.

For the rest of the day I've just been catching up with the washing and did a spot of tidying up. In a couple of minutes we're off to bed to watch a film and get some early sleep.

Day One Hundred and Sixteen...

Today I was awoken by the sound of my shower radio detaching itself from the wall int he bathroom and smashing into a million tiny pieces in the bath. Not the greatest start to the day. I got up to investigate and went back to bed for a couple of hours kip before getting ready for the trip to Brighton.

I had most of my gear ready and all we had to do was load the kayak on the car and go. On the way we had to pick up a work friend of the missus. She said we'd get along since we shared a lot of the same interests and she was right. He's been interested in getting a kayak for a while, and I think I've pushed him over the edge.

On arrival in Brighton we parked near the marina where the boat trip sailed from and I got the kayak ready. This time I took my camera and handed it, and my longest lens to the missus to take one or two photos for this post. I also, for the first time, took my fishing rod. My previous trips were just getting to know the 'yak and I wasn't brave enough to risk taking a rod.

To be honest, when I saw the seas, I wondered if I was being wise. It was far choppier than I'd been out in before and the swell on the shore was significant. This didn't look easy. However, I'd come this far and I wasn't scared of getting wet.



So, after checking everything twice I decided to launch. The first attempt wasn't a success and I ended upside down in the sea. The second attempt was a lot better and I paddled as fast as I could out of the surf zone.

The waves were quite big, and some crashed over the boat. You can see it covered below. You can also see my rod attached to the side and my carry wheels in the back.



Then I was away and in clear water.



The more observant of you will notice I'm wearing socks. I forgot to bring the trainers I'd been using in the kayak. This would prove to be a right pain later.

Here's a shot of me looking back at the camera. I'm sure this is the first picture of me on here. According to the scales I am just over 17.5 stones.



I paddled for a solid twenty minutes and then got the rod ready. There was a much higher swell than I was used to, and I was quite nervous as I started my first cast. I needn't have been stressed as it proved to be quite simple to cast and keep the boat in line at the same time. There was a bit of rod and paddle juggling, but it all went fine. After a couple of casts I felt a familiar tug as I hooked a mackerel. I wound it in to the side of the boat, looked at it for a second or two and released it back to the sea.

I was delighted. Although it was only a mackerel, a fish I have caught countless hundreds of in the past, it meant such a lot to me. I would never have been out in the yak unless the last 116 days had been a success and I had lost the weight.

I few minutes, and a few fish later, one of the charter boats the missus hired for her fishing trip arrived on the scene. I paddled over to say hi and promptly caught a load more fish. About fifteen minutes later the second boat arrived to the same spot, this one carrying the missus. I paddled to within 30 yards or so and said hi. After an hour or so of good fishing and around 30 or so mackerel released I decided to paddle back to shore.

At this point I realised that I was quite far from the shore, and had drifted to around a mile west of my starting point. I had to paddle against the receding tide on the return. It wasn't too arduous a task, but it took a good half hour. Also the tide kept turning the kayak in odd directions, so I found I had to correct my course the whole time. It was a great learning experience.

As I came in to land I aimed straight for beach and at the last moment hopped out. Then a large wave lifted the boat past me and hammered it onto the stones. The tide then tried to take it away from me but I had a firm grip. I then tried to tow the boat up the steep stones in my sock clad feet. It really hurt and I wish I hadn't forgotten my old trainers.

As soon as I had the kayak safely up the beach I got out my wet clothes and got dry and dressed. About 20 minutes later the boat trips arrived back with their mackeral and BBQs. I gutted around 80 or so fish whilst someone else cooked them. I love mackerel, especially when it's fresh, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not having any. I'd had my lemon bar whilst waiting for them and felt great.

Around half past six it got a bit chilly so we packed up all our rubbish, loaded the car and drove back to London. Tomorrow I'll have to clean the 'yak and the car, as well as my fishing gear, but it will be worth it.

Today was magical.