Ju phoned me at lunchtime yesterday as Donata Polo was just about to leave Plymouth to run southwards towards Brest, there to ride out the impending storm over the next couple of days, before sailing across the Bay of Biscay. The journey should take about 24 hours, which means they will arrive probably some time this afternoon or early evening.

Back in Ardfern I went out fishing with Martin on Pacero and we caught a huge bucketful of lovely plump mackerel within half a mile of home. Martin smokes them and they provide food for the family over the winter. I brought my share home and had a couple for dinner, while the other four are snug in the freezer for other occasions. We had one line, with six hooks on it, and as fast as I dropped the line each time several fish would take the hooks, I think our biggest haul at once was five fish. No problem here keeping oily fish in the diet! And so much for the pessimists who said that the fish had all gone from the loch for the season!