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Saturday 26 November 2011

This is what we’ve waited for…26/11/2011

I’m part Greek. Only a tiny part mind. My great grandfather (Albanian) won the Greek consul’s wife in a card game according to family legend. From the ensuing years together (before they went their separate ways, her final one off a hotel roof at 97 years of age having been to the bank earlier but that’s another story) I bet he wished the consul hadn’t folded because he probably had a far better hand…You may be wondering where all this is leading. It’s not strictly relevant of course other than that I watched 300 last night while tying rigs and it made me come over all Spartanish. Not to the extent of wearing a leather codpiece or anything but I did decide to launch fully dressed to do battle with Mr Gadus in my Spartan battle helmet. Come back with your yak…or on it.

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That was after the sun came up of course. In the meantime it was bloody dark at Hopton when I cast my eye over the hot gates towards Lowestoft to the south and Gorleston to the north. The sea looked reasonably flat and there wasn’t any swell of chop to talk of. So I went and got ready to face my foe in company with Si and Chris.

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I picked my time and launched in the gap even though the shore dump wasn’t too bad. I was delayed slightly by not having the camera on yet so had to fiddle up to my waist in water and there was quite an undertow; it was up high and we were launching from right by the promenade. I was off to the mark I favour but this meant paddling against the tide all the way and it was now banging down full-bore as it was the middle of the flow. I can do it but I spared myself too much effort and went out on a dogleg, 100 yards off the beach and north for 500 then out 300 and ferry-gliding down before dropping my anchor down 200ft uptide of the mark and drifting down to take up the slack 100ft away. On the flood that’s pretty much bang on.

After last week I had a temporary home-made black ball up to show I was at anchor. I figured a windy session was the best test and it was fine, though not in the way of fishing and snapping being on the bow.

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Straight away it was clear that the tide was really pushing through (big spring after all) and though it had seemed that the wind wasn’t too bad up top it was what was forecast down here – force 5 gusting 7. Luckily it was offshore which keeps it reasonably flat and there wasn’t a massive swell. I rigged up the KP with a triple flapper, size 1 hooks and 20lb amnesia and flung it out loaded with small pinches of black lug I’d left out in salt the night before to toughen up and perhaps go stale. I required 7 dabs for a starter that night (main course of roadkill roe deer). There was 10ft more water here now than on Thursday at the end of the ebb too.

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Then I set up the other rod with a zip slider, 20lb amnesia and a 4/0 Viking pennel. Both rods had 6oz on them, plain on the KP and breakaway on the other. In it went loaded with the usual black lug tipped with a squid head.

Tide was ripping through but after a bit of a wait I got a bite on the pennel. In came the first whiting of the day – a nice one of about a pound. His smaller brother, though filletable, went back…as did the next (half the whiting went back today).

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Nothing on the KP. After an hour I decided that there was a reason I didn’t use flapper rigs so I cut it off and tied on a blinging Christmas tree of a rig ;D I’d got my hands on a collection of Orme hooks recently but not gotten around to trying them. These consist of two hooks facing away from each other and joined via a plastic moulding. They looked promising and with a stupid amount of beads and blades attached I figured I must find a chav of a flattie down there.

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That’s when my rod tip thumped down and I pulled into something better! I could feel it thumping away on the end, the rod was bent nicely and it was taking a bit of effort; either a big cod or a smaller one and too much tide. Either way as soon as I got it off the bottom it was off. I wasn’t impressed, that’s twice in two weeks.

Si called it a day, he still had anchor issues and was fed up with paddling north. He went in leaving just Chris and I.

More whiting and then another heavier pull. Up came a codling at last. A couple of pound and a bit more he was clonked on the head. The Spartan hat was working! Two codling tracked down so far…this is what we’ve waited for, this is it boys, this is war. It’s funny how lines from songs come into your head at the most inopportune moments. Nena. A wet dream. Perhaps not so inopportune.

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Then a good bite and up came a whiting on the Orme hooks, bite indication on these is incredible. It went back to spread its poor taste amongst the next generation while I changed over again to a circle hook, a 5/0 I’ve had sitting around for years. I bought ten for piking and landed one fish in 8 runs and I deep-hooked that one. I figured I’d take it out today though and see how I got on. Surprisingly it was easy enough to bait up with a salted black lug and I tipped it off with squid. I wasn’t striking the rolling lead too well so I figured this might help today.

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Meanwhile, in 4/0 pennel land a bite was followed by some reeling and a nice, big, plump dab came in. Lovely job!

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Soon after and it was cranking time as I brought in another codling, just a tad bigger than the previous one. The tide was easing now but the wind was starting to build and consequently I went more across tide than I had been, the black ball anchor on the pole at the front weathercocking me. I didn’t care, I’d got some codling.

Chris went in. I was on the phone and starting to wonder if I should call it a day. Then the wind started. The forecast said it’d be windier at nine than at 6 (the inshore waters forecast on channel 23 was rather illuminating too in that Magic Seaweed appeared to have things right). I didn’t expect it to suddenly go up a notch instantly though and the sea just changed. 3ft sets were rolling through now and again and the surface of the water was showing the signs of what I could feel. Another half an hour passed without it abating and then it was time to come in, a final whiting taking the circle hooked bait…a day of experiments and all doing fine.

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Back home and I popped the keepers in the sink. Codling were 2 ¼ lb and 45cm, Biggest Whiting was just over a pound and 38cm, dab was just over 10oz and 29cm. First time I’ve bothered to get the tape measure out for them at home.

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I filleted the lot ready for a salt/pepper/brown sugar brining before putting them in the cold smoker for a few hours, all bar three whiting which were for lunch, baked with celery, tomatoes, red onion. Broccoli, salt, pepper and lemon juice. I had to do quick and easy because of other stuff to do.

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Yeah, so the Spartans won the battle at Thermopylae and I conquered the cod at Hopton…meanwhile Nena pops up nearly three decades on with a new hit.

You and I in a little kayak
Buy a wrap of blacks with the money we've got
Hook them on at the break of dawn
Till one by one they were gone
Back at home sparks in the software
Flash the message cod are out there??
Floating in the Corton Roads
Ninety nine small whiting go by

Ninety nine small whiting
Floating in the Corton Roads
Finder beeps, its red alert
There’s something here that's something else
The old KP springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
And focusing it on the sky
The ninety nine small whiting go by

Ninety nine decisions treat
Ninety nine yak anglers meet
To worry, worry, super scurry
push the yaks out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it boys, this is war
The fat codling is on the line
As ninety nine small whiting go by

Ninety nine knights without hair
Ride super high-tech fishing yaks
Everyone's a super hero
Everyone's a Captain Birdseye
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scrambling the winter sky
Ninety nine small whiting go by


Ninety nine dreams I have had
In every one a big fat cod
It's all over and I'm standing pretty
In this tide that looks so sh!tty
If could find a souvenir
Just to prove the cod was here
And here is a small whiting
I think of you and let it go…

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Flatfooting it from Gunton to Hopton…23/11/2011

A day off midweek, nice! I have one of those right up until Christmas with owed holiday so it’s game on for fishing. The original plan was a north Norfolk drift for some of those hang-about mackerel and bass but with Tim having a job come up Ian and I decided to go from Gunton to Corton and then on to Hopton using the tide to make things easy.

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9am and we’re down at the launch spot for a lazy set up and then it was into a flat sea. The idea was to drift down with feathers and bait with too much optimism before anchoring on the foul ground. The wind was holding us back and we covered the route at a leisurely 1mph until Tramps Alley when we decided that enough was enough of this biteless fishing and we paddled north at over 5mph with little effort. Such an easy day.


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A few boats were anchored where I’d planned to go so we made our way past and anchored up about 500 metres downtide, well out of their way, and dropped down our baits. The whiting were here of course though not large and not in great numbers with the tide really pushing through now so after a dozen or so apiece we moved off north to the usual ground and anchored up over the beds. It was whiting from the off.

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The water was very low, 20ft, and with it slowing down we sat happily and reeled in one after another. I decided to save money and stopped wasting lug on them and it made no difference – small bits of squid, whole squid, triple squid; all were ravaged and they came in one after the other. Ian was in heaven – he found the dabs and swung them in apace. They didn’t like my 4/0s.

I got the Scarborough and swung it out, an orange twintail leadhead on the bottom and some size 8 crappie lures I’d picked up in the States a few years ago tied on as a feather rig. A small piece of squid on each and I lobbed it in. The first lift saw 3 whiting on and then I started to pull the odd dab up.

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This continued for the rest of the day, whiting and dabs continuously but no codling.

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It was all good fun and leaving bites to develop in the wait for something larger meant plenty of missed bites and nothing larger. The water was clearing now and it was easily fishable with lures but with slack spinning us around we decided to call it a day and head back, especially after I lost half a wishbone rig between 3 shagging slipper limpets and a perverted baby starfish all sitting on a stone.

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We started heading back and stopped for a brief drift with whole squid over the foul ground, Cleveland Princess being the only other boat there now and we moved off around the same time as them at between 5 and 6mph. No, I didn’t get a bite.

We landed back at Gunton just before four after 6 easy and pleasant hours and headed back for coffee, TV and filleting. At least half of my whiting had gone back along with 3 dabs and I ended the day with around 20 whiting and 7 dabs coming home, the latter going into the freezer and the whiting fillets either eaten for tea with home-made horseradish sauce (finally found some fresh horseradish) or salted down to do a brandade sometime. It beat going to work for sure.

Sunday 20 November 2011

Flat and Pleasant…20.11.2011

Forecast was looking pleasant. Low wind, okay direction, small swell, ebb tide…Sunday was a go. It wasn’t until I left the house full of coffee that I noticed the fog. Oh well…

I’m down at the launch for 06:30. Si is there first, glistening in his dayglo anglersafloat beanie; we’re visible. As it happens the visibility is okay here at Hopton. We can’t see Gorleston but we can see a long enough way and the lights on the buoys out by the banks. We kit up and launch, the ATC9K on a pole mount at the rear of the Scupper for a different angle on the day’s proceedings.

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We’re approaching the mark when a kayaker comes towards us from the direction of Holland.

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I’ve not met Chris before, he’s been out since 1am on his Tarpon 100 and joins us for a while as we anchor up ‘somewhere in the vicinity’ I went on guesswork today, I really couldn’t be arsed ;D

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A few minutes and I’m getting bites. A few more and it’s my first whiting. It was sporadic, nothing on last week but the occasional double shot. Most of the whiting went back as I have plenty in the freezer and these were generally not that large though in size and worth filleting.

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Then a double shot, dab and whiting. Dabs make me smile; I love them!

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Lots of tiny trembles and little bites throughout the morning, a flat sea, a bit of a chill in the air and the fish were coming in on both the 4/0 pennel and size 1 wishbone with frozen blacks and/or unwashed squid from Sam Cole and some scrap bits of mackerel belly from the ones I cold smoked last night. Just a gentle, easy and pleasant morning to be afloat.

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Come 09:30 and it was time for me to go. Low water was an hour away but I had cooking to do – we had a dinner guest and I was cooking fish. I gave it a bit longer and just before I paddled ashore and ran home. By now there were plenty of charter boats and ‘owned’ ones milling around and I really fancied staying but alas…

Oh, there was one more. A 25ft red and white netter. He decided to shoot his nets 20-30 metres uptide of Mike, which was nice. Especially when it caught his anchor. So, both traces and anchor cut free to avoid being dragged under and he goes to tell Si who is now being swamped and cutting his own anchor line (retrieved once cut fortunately) and traces. Meanwhile, those on the netter were having a good laugh at the entertainment.

Some video might come in a few days though it doesn’t look that exciting (interesting angle though) but for now have a look at lunch ;D

Thai jungle curry (bass) Sri Lankan fisherman’s curry (cod) Vietnamese braised fish in spring onion and caramel sauce (smoothound) and a salad including crisped flakes of smoked mackerel…our dinner guest was hugely impressed.

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Saturday 19 November 2011

Morning Glory…19.11.2011

Surely not, not at my age; must be talking about paddling again ;D

0630 and I’m on my way down to south beach with the Rrrapido. Not because I was expecting a surf but because I didn’t have time for a long paddle and it was a bit windy for a fish and I wanted to try out my new purchase.

Back in high school we had an occasional lesson taken by a supply teacher, Mr O’Neill. Now Mr o’ Neill invariably sported tweed and looked like an emaciated Gandalf with his wizened beard. Tweed has never suited me and fortunately another Mr O’Neill, Jack O’Neill to be precise, was also un-tweed like when he went into production with the first wetsuit using neoprene. After lengthy consideration (about four days which is pretty long for me) I decided that I was going to stop wearing a drysuit when surf yakking and ignore tweed in favour of a nice winter wetsuit. A 5/3 steamer was settled upon after much advice (‘Andy, what wetsuit do I need for winter?’ ‘A 5/3 steamer.’ ‘Cheers’.) Come Wednesday I was on a delivery down to Shore Watersports in East Wittering and, apparently being the UK’s largest wetsuit retailer, I came away with an O’Neill Psycho 2 5/3 steamer to wear, a tad over budget admittedly but what the hell, it’s only money.

So I wanted to wear it.

The sky was just getting light when I arrived and had that orange/pink glow so beloved of my mornings on the water. The sun wasn’t yet over the horizon as I launched and paddled out. Hopefully the wetsuit would be as warm as I required…

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There weren’t any waves really, just small chop and so I paddled around, from the launch up to the south pier then back to the Claremont pier, through it and then back to the launch.

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I picked up a few small waves, missed most and just spent an hour enjoying a bit of a time-wasting tonic.

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I rode some bits in and wandered off the beach and home. I was most pleased to have the board to protect my modesty while crossing the road though, our local mincing camp gentleman clearly relished the sight of a new slim snapper in sexy neoprene…every contour clearly defined. If only my wife was as impressed ;D I mean, how could you not fancy this?

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Saturday 12 November 2011

Hopton Hoptoff...12.11.2011

It was great on Thursday but blew up and got rough again on Friday. With Remembrance Sunday being a day off from fishing, especially this year, that left Saturday morning and by the look of the forecast it really did look like a good window with only the tide being against us on the way out…so once again my weekend began at 05:30; shouldn’t the weekend begin later than a weekday?

I got near to the roundabout at Hopton when I saw mike with Mick Dundee’s old scupper on the roof; christening day! I pulled up behind him at beach road and went to have a look at how bad things were. Now, that was actually the case as I could hear the sea. I could hear it at home too. That of course meant that waves were dumping on the beach. Now I love it when there’s a big easterly blow because I can lie in bed and hear the sea but not when I want to launch for a fishing session. It looked doable though, just a question of timing to avoid the sets and go out on the breaks.

Down we went and I got out okay.

Mike wasn’t so lucky; he was going great, leaping his newly-acquired Scupper over the first couple but then one came in that rolled him over. Shit.



I waited for a break and headed back in and tried to assist with his launch. Si was down by now and I thought he was going to run away very fast, especially after another hairy launch but with Mike out and me out he went and got dressed having filmed my second launch:



We got Mike’s anchor down and he was really aware of the difference of his new boat having changed from a Big Game. It was pretty lumpy out there and the tide was running but he seemed okay and I dropped mine. It was only a few minutes before I could tell that he was on a slow drift. Bugger. Soon after he decided to pull up and made the sensible but regretted choice to leave it for another day, meeting Si on the way out.

I was catching now though it was sporadic.

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Si dropped down and commenced fishing. He also commenced his slow tours of the East Coast once again as his anchor dragged. Now I said it was lumpy and it was but it wasn’t chop and I wasn’t taking water over the side so that was okay, I felt quite happy. The water was pretty clear again and got better as the tide slowed and there wasn’t much weed about at all. But we weren’t on the mark, being at least a groyne south of it, fishing on a clean bottom and it showed. Whiting only and irregularly at that. The swell started to reduce as the tide slowed too so by the time we decided to head in it wasn’t much at all but the shore dump was still powerful and fairly tall. Mike was on the beach waiting for us and Si landed before I got in so of course they both had their cameras out to watch me get rolled ;D There was a bit of beach either side of the ramp and I aimed right. I thought about waiting for a gap but decided I fancied a bit of excitement anyway and went for it, surfing in and enjoying it until I spotted the ramp coming out to meet me; I was being pulled off course. Best I stick the brakes on then ;D Lean, brace, bongo slide in…not too embarrassing even if I did need to pull my fish bag and anchor reel back in after I stepped out! Luckily Si caught it on film!



Hehe, I even got home early. That gave me brownie points and I gained more by making a quick lunch from ungutted to served up in less than an hour so she could go out all afternoon on time earning further points…wonder when I can cash them in?!

Mango, carrot and peanut salad with crispy smoked whiting flakes alongside fried whiting fillets with a garlic and ginger palm sugar sauce. Tasty. That’s how you get to go fishing as much as me ;)

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Thursday 10 November 2011

Si’s Birthday Bonanza…10.11.2011

I was over at Si’s a few weeks back. I randomly pitch up when I have spare cooked fish, feel like riding the bike or just fancy getting tempted into wine. That and the text affair I’m having with his wife ;D Anyway, this particular occasion saw him telling her that he was going to take the day off for his birthday.

“Why? I’ll be at work and the kids will be at school.”

“I just want to take the day off”.

A vision flashed before my eyes…

“I’ll take the day off too if you fancy going fishing!”

It wasn’t difficult to persuade Tim to have the day off as well. Thursdays are better spent not working and so it was all planned and all in hand.

08:00. Tim pitches up and we have bacon, sausage, tomato, egg and warm cheese ciabatta rolls with coffee. Si pitches up at 9 and we head for Hopton as the sea looks fine as opposed to the forecast that would have been snot (and seen us in the Alde).

The sea was well up to the ramp but apart from the shore dump it looked fine. A bit of swell but no chop. We let Si go first as it was his birthday. It wasn’t his lucky day though and he started off wet ;D

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We were soon on the mark, it was just coming off slack so a nice gentle paddle and we dropped anchor and started to fish. The bites were immediate and within a couple of minutes the first whiting came aboard. Then a double shot came aboard.

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Rod 3 went out as a livebait.

Then a dab

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Then Si called out “Did you see that?”

I’d seen nothing but I watched as between the two of us a pair of porpoises broke the surface. I couldn’t capture them on film, as brief as they are but I saw them and felt good; I’ve not seen any for ages. We saw a seal later too, it was one of those days. I half expected my livebait rod to scream…

Then Si went north, up anchored and paddled back again.

Next came my first ever double shot of dabs

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It was manic and I was pulling fish for a while. I missed some, dropped some, left some waiting for codling. It was constant for all of us. Well, for Tim and I. Si kept padlding back again every time his anchor slipped ;D

As the tide started to pick up things slowed and it became a waiting game, just tiny bites but I still saw dabs coming in amazingly and some good ones at that – even a PB! Then I got a decent bend in the rod and started pulling up an almost definite cod. It felt a decent one too but alas it dropped off just downtide of me and I didn’t see it. Bugger! Then Tim called over – he had one on and then in the yak.

Si was still padlding about. We took pity and Tim let him go get a larger anchor from his car. It didn’t stop him drifting but at least he went slower!!!

We came in around 3pm after 5 hours on the water. 11 dabs – more than I’ve had some years – and 39 whiting had been swung aboard and about half the latter had come back to restock the freezer tray which was down to the last 3 whiting (tray currently weighing 20kgs with seven species, some also available smoked and salted; I’m prepared for a repeat of last winter’s desert). It had been a great day out and we left with the water looking like this:

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Back ashore we loaded up and Mike wandered down with his dog. Mike is a local and I work with his wife. As we chatted the emergency phone on the clifftop rang – the one for dialling the coastguard. I answered, concerned it might be a call for assistance. Apparently I may be eligible for compensation for being missold Payment Protection insurance…unbelievable!

It’s illegal (or should be) to work on your birthday in my book and to work on a mate’s birthday is not on either ;D Many happy returns you old fart!

Sunday 6 November 2011

Riding Relics…06/11/2011

“Gorleston” says Tim “surf’s predicted and if there’s none we can still play in the cauldron. I really want to get wet”. That was the extent of the planning, along with the decision to bring the surf yaks and the Scuppers with sails.

So, I get up, drink my coffee and jump in the van. A quick look at the sea at the end of the road and I notice that there are sets rolling in around 3ft high and nicely spaced. I’m not sure it’s worth going to Gorleston as it’s good here and deserted. He doesn’t hear his phone so I drive north anyway, checking the sea en-route. Nothing surfy at the Swan, nothing between there and the pier and then, turning into the road behind him we pull up and see nothing rideable near the pier though the cauldron looks fun anyway. Prediction was wrong. We turn around and head back to Lowestoft in time to see a couple of surfers heading beachwards with their boards.

My RRRapido comes off the roof; Tim’s Lipstik comes out of the car. We’re playing old school today, both yaks are around ten years old and both have been picked up cheap and in excellent condition this year. Mine hasn’t seen decent waves yet and his hasn’t seen the water since he’s had it. Today is the baptism.

It’s looking good, still rolling in around 3ft, some slightly bigger. They’re clean but not very steep; not ideal as the tide is quite low but rideable. We launch and paddle out, past the boardie and near the paddle boarder with a nod and a wave to each.

Tim’s staying upright on something vastly different to his previous surf toy and I’m also remaining aboard mine. Then the first set rolls in and we both try and paddle for the wave. We miss. We paddle for the second. We miss again. I catch the third and run down and into a bottom turn, carving along and back up; the snot-play hasn’t been wasted and I can make the most of it. Tim catches one and shoots in too. Yeah, we like our new boats ;D

We catch a few more, always on the second or third attempt as they’re getting absorbed and building back again on the banks and bottom which has changed shape once more from the recent weather; shifting sands change everything here frequently though the end of the groyne is still the best take-off point. The paddle boarder is on the end though and having got in his way a couple of times, clashing paddle blades on one occasion we find ourselves outside of the steepest part and unwilling to annoy him any further even though he’s graciously accepted my apologies.

There are a couple more surfers now, one of whom I have got to know slightly over the last year or two and we have a brief natter; his partner is with him on a bodyboard and I get them both on film. Then we decide to take the north side of the groyne as there are some waves coming through there, reasonably steep and we think we can ride them without hurting ourselves even the tide is now going the wrong way (it’s gnarly on that side, with submerged concrete here and there).

We catch a few rides here, accelerating to good speeds (22.99mph was the top recorded on the GPS module in my bow-mounted Oregon Scientific ATC9K action camera) and pulling turns before carving along the waves, cutting back, riding the foam when the water ran out, bongo sliding, managing half spins, three-quarter spins and alternating between being dumped and making it. Tim even manages to roll upright but goes too far and can’t make a second rotation! We are, in short, having great fun! Then it happens and I go too steep, my RRRapido pearls (a new term for me but a familiar occurrence). The nose well and truly dug in I go flying head first into the water at the trough of the wave and feel my Sunseeker beanie hat come adrift. Oh. I get into the shore, leave the yak on the sand and try to wade out to where it still floats just out of reach and a bit close to the groyne. I paddle out for it and a wave breaks; it disappears for good. Poor Sunseeker hat.

I carry on, bareheaded. Another ride or two and then…and then I achieve my goal! I’ve seen someone on film spin 180 degrees to the wave and ride it backwards and I finally get myself around far enough with a really aggressive carve and hip flick and for a second I’m there and doing it! I cheer, I raise my paddle, and then as I cartwheel over the arse-end I realise that I hadn’t considered what comes next…lean forwards and lift the stern to stop it digging in then place the blade in to spin back around. Oh well, that’s the next goal. Tim says it looked great and was long enough to count ;D If only the foam off the lip hadn’t obscured the lens for most of it!

We swap kayaks soon after. We’ve been meaning to for ages but I keep seeing waves to ride! Tim shimmies across and I re-enter from the water. He tells me the RRRapido is really stable, tells me I’m going to hate the Lipstik because it’s so tippy. It feels stable to me, more so in fact and as he again tells me how tippy it is he rolls over on the RRRapido and sinks from view ;D

We start riding waves with each other’s boats. He’s watching out for the camera on the bow and I’m watching out for the fin on the underside; he protects the former and takes a yak to the knee, I protect the latter and get washed ashore on my leg. I’m liking the Lipstik too but with the fin my aggressive carving that the RRRapido loves is flipping me out once I try to cutback and over the lip. Not that I mind, being dumped is half the fun. It’s just yelling as I go headfirst again that causes me a moment of consternation. I get a gobful and make it to shore coughing and spitting.

Tim is wearing a helmet. I decide to test it and whack him with my paddle. I promptly take a swim to much laughter. I’m pleased it wasn’t a fishing day.

I’m awaiting another wave, having got back out again. Tim is on the beach having just rode one in. He’s standing with some bloke and waving to me to come in. I ride one in and am given a coffee. Bonus! “Have we met?” I ask. “Nearly” says Wilmy and the coffee hits the spot; He’s come to give some rods to Tim and after a chat and one more wave (well, two. It’s like a last cast!) we leave the water and wander up to the cars with Wilmy who will always most definitely absolutely be welcome to drop by at any time ;D

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“Photobucket”

We load up and go back to mine. It’s breakfast and I quickly knock up kippers with Hollandaise sauce and a couple of fried eggs as Tim talks to my wife, forty yesterday, who has found the remnants of the champagne we shared with friends and has got quite tipsy at ten in the morning with her breakfast of cake and alcohol. They do say life begins at forty…but Tim and I feel way, way older after those three, glorious hours.