Andrea Scorcia unfurls the orange neoprene mound wrapped inside his waterproof sack and sets to work inflating it using a portable hand pump.

The worst part is inflating the kayak... when you are half-asleep it can be tough!

He pumps vigorously for a couple of minutes and the mound soon starts taking shape.

Minutes later, the 30-year-old Italian launches his orange inflatable kayak into the sea, hops off the Senglea waterfront and begins to row to work in Valletta.

Mr Scorcia kayaks it to and from work every day, avoiding the gridlock which drives so many commuters up the wall.

The entire trip, from inflating the kayak in Senglea to deflating it and packing everything up along Ta’ Liese in Valletta, takes him approximately 20 minutes.

“I’ve been kayaking it to work since I moved to Senglea in June last year,” Mr Scorcia said. “After I realised it took me 45 minutes to get there by car – and that’s without including parking.”

An experienced kayaker, Mr Scorcia soon realised that crossing the Grand Harbour would be both easy and pleasurable.

“The worst part is inflating the kayak. I reckon it takes around 120 pumps to inflate. It only takes five minutes but when you’re still half-asleep it can be tough!”

Mr Scorcia cuts a fascinating figure as he slices through the water, arms whirling his paddle at a strong, steady pace. He weaves past some small fishing boats and casts a glance at Fort St Angelo to his right.

Further to his left, two hulking cruise liners dwarf the little orange kayak as it approaches the Valletta shore.

The harsh winter just gone by forced him back to his car seat for a couple of months, but Mr Scorcia said that on most winter days, a waterproof jacket was all he needed for his unusual commute.

And he arrives at work at the European Commission office.

Mr Scorcia said his work colleagues at the European Commission office were often bemused by his kayaking exploits. On hotter days, his first workplace port of call was the office shower.

Arriving at the other side, Mr Scorcia quickly deflates the kayak before wiping it down with a small rag. “It’s actually a white water kayak, not a seawater one,” he explains.

He wraps himself in a towel and changes into his work clothes. Some feet away, an elderly man sits on a stone, fishing rod in hand.

The kayak – now an orange mound once again – slips into his waterproof backpack. And with that, Mr Scorcia hoists the 10 kilogram bag onto his shoulders, bids us farewell and makes his way to work.