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squiz
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Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3688
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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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