I’ve had diabetes for nearly three years now, but sometimes it feels like I haven’t got any better at managing it, like I havent learnt anything.

Although I injected insulin through the night, my sugars just wouldn’t come down, until they plummeted and I woke up at 2.6. Treating this started a rollercoaster and I spent the morning trying to get stable.

Achieving something always improves my mood, so it felt good to get paddling. A strong headwind greeted me on the river and I thought there may be some exciting conditions at sea, but the wind had all but died when I reached the river mouth.

I didn’t feel great after my crazy sugar levels but I could see the cranes and silos at the big port at Livorno and paddling there felt like an easy goal, it was only 20km away.

Arriving in Livorno I met two surfski paddlers, Francesco and Daniele, at Unione Canottieri Livornessi. They seemed quite intrigued by my trip, and kindly let me use the club as a base. It makes such a difference having a shower and safe place for me and my boat to sleep.

I explored Livorno, and wandered in to the Fortezza Nuova, a fort surrounded by canals that was built in 1604. Inside was a festival of music and art, and although I had no clue what was going on, tonight was the pride night. I sat in one of the forts gardens in an open air cinema watching Gli anni amari, a film about Mario Mieli, a writer and philosopher and one of the founders of the Italian gay movement.

The air was still warm at midnight and I wanted to stay out in Livorno, to walk along the canals and meet some people. Livorno seemed to be empty of tourists, and I like that, it makes a place feel much more genuine. But I was feeling too sleepy, so walked back to the canoe club.

The power of starting again is extraordinary and that’s what I’ll do tomorrow with my diabetes. Forget about today, reset, back to square one.