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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2882 |
6th June 2015 Windsurfing: La Franqui Wind Direction: wnw Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: flat Air Temperature: 30 Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny Max Speed: 36.46 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 50 (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Saturday 6th June – windsurf ***** - La Franqui – sunny and very hot – wnw 20/30 Fanatic 80 and 6.4 – Xantos 133 and 7m – 28 and 34cm fins – max 36.46 kts, ave 34.57 kts, n/mile 32.53kts (7 miles over 30 kts ) 50 n/mile sailed, alpha 21.57 kts We have stayed down here in the Gruissan/La Franqui area longer than expected enjoying the bikes and the lovely scenery :) Earlier in the week the forecast was looking good for windsurfing on Sun/Mon but that disappeared and we were left with a few hours wind this morning! So we got up early at 6 ish from our newly found lovely overnight spot just outside Les Cabanes near Sigean right by the Etang:) On the journey to Sigean we spotted a 100 Flamingos’ feeding in a small Etang – the first we have seen this holiday, also another first a small Squacco Heron :) I was the first windsurfer to arrive on the beach, passing a 4x4 still stuck in the sand from yesterday – what a plonker !!! As usual the forecast 15/20 wnw was 25/30 so while Mag made a cuppa I rigged 6.4 and set up the 80 and was on the water at 7:45 and had it all to myself for a couple of hours !!! :) and what a great time I had – not fast but great fun even if a bit gusty. I did loads of mile runs and did 7 over 30kts and even sailed up towards Port la Noueille only turning when the wind went light. I was getting hungry by now so went and joined Mag for breakfast at 10, she had been enjoying watching the kite buggies, land yachts and foil kite boards while doing her exercises and then knitting :) As the wind had dropped by now I decided to take to Xantos 133 out with the 6.4 and try for some alpha’s and got some cracking gybes in but again was a bit disappointed by only getting 21.57 kts with a entry speed of 28 kts !!! must try harder :) With the wind going even lighter I rigged the 7m and had some fun with Mag taking some pics on the shore! The wind was getting lighter and lighter but I struggled on until I got to 50 n/mile on the gps before packing up. After a delicious salad lunch I re-rigged and tied all the kit on the van and then we took our towels and books the water edge for a relax and a swim – my 6th swim this month and great it is too but with the wind now all but gone it was way too hot so after a quick trip to Lidl we headed to our shady spot near Bages and had a great end to the day under some trees with a light cooling breeze ending in a top sunset :) Photo Gallery here Sunday 7 June We relaxed in our lovely spot which gave us both sun and shade:) It really is a beautiful place and we are so secluded at the end of the track which must be about a mile from the road! We did see a couple of people on bikes and one van looking for somewhere to fish. We left around 11.30 and headed up the motor way – we even paid to Bezier – 2.50 euros and well worth it:) Drove up to Lac Salagou and couldn’t have picked a worse day! Not only was it Sunday but it was the annual Lac Salagou triathlon!!! The usual routes were either blocked or diverted and half of france were there to watch!! So we went back to Clermont Herault and went round through Moureze and past the cirque we visited a few years ago. Even that way was affected by the triathlon but we could use the roads, just had to dodge the cyclists and runners! Then when we got to our favourite place to park the farmer had shut the gate so it wasn’t accessible:( We found a nice spot though, on a more popular part of the lac but amazingly there were hardly any people here. Maybe the triathlon put local weekend visitors off. We parked up right on the side of the Lac and had our lunch then watched a huge storm approaching! It was really hot and humid and we could hear thunder rumbling and the sky was jet black over the red hills. It got closer and closer and rumbled away for a long time but never actually reached us! We quite fancied a torrential downpour but got just a few drops of rain and a welcome strong wind for a while. We also had a visit from the police helicopter flying very low over the water. We read and dozed then went for a walk around the lake and over the hills near the van. There are a few fishermen left but most people disappeared when the storm loomed! Back to the van and a really lovely swim in the lac. Very refreshing:) There are some monster fish in here – we have seen the pictures on you tube – but you can’t think of that when you’re swimming!! The only down side of this spot is that there is a pump house on the opposite bank which is a little noisy but not too bad. We can hear the Great Read Warblers making their crazy noise in the reeds and did see one fly out and, of course, lots of nightingales! Had our tea – a great pasta delicacy from Lidl:) Photo Gallery here |
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