Owner:
squiz
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Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3070
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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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