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Member#: 107 Location: Registered: 22-01-2003 Diary Entries: 14
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12th May 2012
Windsurfing: Gruissan Wind Direction: nw Wind Stength: 20/25 Surf / Sea State: flatish Air Temperature: 23 Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny periods Max Speed: 28.24 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 55 (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise)
Saturday 12th May 2012 – windsurfing **** then walking cloudy but sunny
later
After breakfast we packed up and drove to Gruissan beach. Instead of
driving through the dreaded chicane we drove along the canal and parked at
the end near the camper aire near the start of the Defi Wind which starts
this coming Thursday and tents are up and the security jet bikes are here
in force!!! And several sailors are here already- I’ve never seen so much
expensive kit!!! The trouble with parking as most sailors did as Gruissan
beach looks like something from the Somme with huge trees washed ashore and
the beach looks soft to drive on :( is you have to rig in the car park and
try and sail out of the small harbour in front of the windsurfing shop or
swim your kit across the canal and clamber over the rocks!!! As I have
already lost 2 fins :( my choice of kit is limited to my speedboard or my
raceboard with a big 40cm fin – not the best for fast sailing in shallow
water!!! – I tried both shops that sell windsurfing stuff in Gruissan to
get a fin with no luck so will have to try Leucate. You are quite sheltered
in the rigging area so it is hard to gauge the wind??? It seemed to be
picking up so was going to rig the 7m but when downhauling the sail the top
section of my mast just snapped!!!!!!!!!! :( :( :( So I throw caution to
the wind and rigged the 8.5 and had the dubious of having the largest sail
on the water by at least one and a half metres and you not see many
raceboards here!!! In the end the kit wasn’t too bad abit over powered at
times and even under sometimes:( I spent over two hours reaching to
Port-la-Nouville lighthouse which is good fun but the trouble here is
because of the direction of the wind it’s a tight reach both ways and you
are fighting to stay upwind both ways:( I landed in the corner swam the
canal to met up with Mag for lunch – she had been reading after walking
along the canal to Gruissan market and watching the antics of the French
windsurfers :) I had another hour or so in the afternoon but the wind had
swung pushing you farther offshore :( I had one blistering run to the
lighthouse as the wind increased hoping that my gear would hold together!!!
Gave up in the end and sailed past the harbour and tried the beach to the
left but very gusty so beat back into the small harbour and packed up.We
then had a walk along the beach and I had an interesting time tying my gear
on the roof as the wind was strong now!! We then drove to our favourite
spot by the small etang at Peyriac-de-Mer and went for a lovely walk along
the wooden walkways to the town :)
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