It may come as a shock to learn that Mrs C is a huge fan of fishing – but it is true.

I can also confirm she once held the record for catching the biggest pollack in the village of Cadgwith some years ago.

We don’t often go out fishing in Falmouth but last week our old friend and former X Factor winner, Matt Cardle came to stay so we decided to rent a boat and put Mrs C’s fishing skills to the test.

But first, breakfast.

One of our favourite places to eat breakfast is Stones Bakery, now firmly established at the bottom of the old high street.

Rosie and Oliver Kingdon opened their artisan bakery in 2009 with the focus on using quality ingredients with everything baked fresh on the premises.

I don’t eat big breakfasts so the muesli, yoghurt and fruit compote suited me perfectly, while Mrs C chose the French toast.

The breakfast menu also has boiled eggs with soldiers, mushrooms on toast and a lovely bacon sandwich. But the stars of the show, and the real reason we were there, was to buy our picnic to take on the boat.

For this we chose a selection of expertly baked savoury tarts including cheese and tomato and a stunning potato frittata.

The pastry here is utter perfection and my favourite sweet treat is the little frangipane almond tarts. Stones café is also open for lunch, serving a selection of lovely salads and toasties.

With our cool box fully loaded we set out to sea with the hope of catching something fishy for dinner.

No sooner had we left the harbour walls Mrs C had three good-sized mackerel wriggling on her line, and a smug smile on her face.

An hour later, close to St Mawes, two more fish were landed.

“At this rate, we are going to need a bigger boat,” I said.

“You just focus on the steering,” said Mrs C, cutting up another sand eel for bait.

Two hours later, as the light began to fade, we headed home to cook our supper. There’s only one way to cook fresh mackerel and that’s on the barbecue. Expertly filleted by Mrs C, with nothing but a squeeze of lemon we sat on the terrace eating our catch.

“Where did you learn to fish? I asked her.

She gazed wistfully across the marina. “I think I was a mermaid in another life.”

Follow Tony Cowell on Twitter: @cowelltweets