Owner:
squiz
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Member#: 165 Location: Registered: 09-03-2003 Diary Entries: 18
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11th March 2018
Windsurfing: Platja de Trabucador – Port dels Alfacs Wind Direction: SW Wind Stength: 10/25 Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: cloudy start then sunny Max Speed: 28.78 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 21.27 (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise)
Sunday 11th March – windsurf **** Platja de Trabucador – Port dels
Alfacs – cloudy start then sunny – SW 10/25
28.78 knot max., 27.14 knot ave., 11.80 knot hour, 18.75 knot mile, 39.40
km., 17.36 knot alpha.
F2 Stoke 117 with Tushingham X-15 7m with 38 cm fin.
Good night on the sand spit that makes up the Platja de Trabucador on the
Port dels Alfacs a huge bay on the Delta de l’Ebre. Woke to a nice
sunrise with some cool clouds on the Spanish mainland but as yet light
winds. The forecast is for SW 20 and as we don’t want to get up the
Pyrenees on a weekend we will sit here and see what happens? Mag had an
early walk on the beach but the kiters, many of whom stayed near us on this
‘no overnight parking’ spot but didn’t seem too keen to set-up! Lots
of people arrived to take part in an organised litter pick on the beaches
:) After breakfast I walked over to see the kitesurfers and at 10.30 with
the wind filling in there was activity at last and the first kiters were on
the water at 10.30. There was only one windsurfer who was rigging 5.2 to
sail in the waves in the open sea but it didn’t look that windy so once
again rig choice is a bit hit and miss? In the end I went with 7m again and
was on the water at 11.15. We are parked in the corner here so I had to
walk out to find deep water and then I was not sure how deep this corner of
the bay is? I needn’t have worried as I didn’t hit bottom once but got
close a few times in water under two feet deep. It was cloudy to start and
the wind was a little light but I managed to beat away from the majority of
kiters and was going OK even if the wind was up and down. Then the sun came
out and the wind picked up, gusting to 25 mph so planing became no problem.
There was a big swell for half a mile out then you could bear off closer to
shore in the flatter water where I got all my best speeds hoping I
wouldn’t run out of water! I was joined by two or three more windsurfers
but we were well outnumbered by the 30/40 kites! There were several bouys
and small post in the water in the shallower section which I thought marked
nets but they didn’t and you could sail almost anywhere:) I got on better
with the F2 Stoke 117 today it just takes a while to get used to the wider
boards and after nearly 3 hours I decided to head back to the van for lunch
when I came across a kite board, stopping to pick it up, I tied it to my
back strap and sailed ashore and soon found the relieved owner:) He was
very pleased to get it back! Mag had been knitting in the van and had been
entertained by the antics of the kite school giving lessons in front of the
van, she had also had some lovely messages/photos/phone calls from home
sending her love on Mother’s Day:) The wind then dropped so after a
delicious sandwich I decided to call it a day with several kiters swimming
ashore! After getting washed and changed we decided to go for a walk along
the beach just in time for the wind to pick up to 25 mph + again and there
was a mad rush as the kiters went out again. It is a great spot here with a
narrow 5-mile long sand spit leading out to salt lagoons and a nature
reserve. You have open ocean with surf waves one side and the calmer bay
the other. As we walked along the beach the sand was taking a layer of skin
from our ankles! You have an odd effect that happens to the water height,
several times a day and for no apparent reason the water rises a foot and
then drops back, we even had to move the van last night as we were parked a
little too close to the edge! Then it was puzzle, read and cards time
followed by pasta for tea and another nice sunset. Tomorrow is supposed to
be windy from another direction NW so might sail again or head for the
mountains we will have to wait and see?
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