Before a pause... - Kitesurf Sessions 121 to 123

About two weeks ago I went back to Beauduc for three days... I couldn't help feeling that I had to make the most of these sessions, since it would probably be the last time I would come for a while.

 

As it has turned out, I was right... On a sad note, because I hurt my knee soon after (and it might turn out to need some fixing, it will all depend on my next medical visit), and on a much happier one, because I'm about a month away from becoming a father, and no way in hell I'm gonna be very far from home this close to the date!

Anyhow, back to Beauduc: this was also the first opportunity to try my new bed setup (I "transformed" the Kangoo into a quick setting "camping car") and it is so much more confortable than the tent, specially in windy nights and hot mornings!

For the kiting conditions, me and Gab where offered strong winds all through the 3 days (I mostly used my 9m), West in the first day and North tendencies the following two. With the Indian Summer conditions, it was a perfect way to close the season for me. And the best moment of all was a solo ride upwind until I was riding completely offshore just some meters away from the beach, with an amazing return at sunset playing in the small waves with side-off winds... Good memories to last for a while!

The big lake - Kitesurf Session 120

The last few days of vacations were spent in a very cool camping site by the lake, in Serre-Ponçon. This was a place I'd heard about a lot from friends (mostly kiters), that told me about the nice thermal effect you get in the Summer, accelerated by the relief of the surrounding mountains.

The Serre-Ponçon lake is also supposed to be one of biggest artificial lakes in Europe. Although the local "kite beach" is small and tends to become overcrowded really fast when conditions are good, it's easy to get away to "calmer" waters, by going upwind or to the side of the launching site.

As most (if not all) lakes and other inland spots, the wind is a bit irregular, but the scenery in Serre Ponçon is so amazing and photogenic that you forget about it!

As an added bonus, we had a Zodiac available, so we could afford to kite downwind and then just hop on the boat and go up again to the point of departure, to start again... No need to take the kite off the air (just as long as the navigator keeps a steady route with the boat)!

A new spot not far from home?

A bit by accident (and thanks to a friend), I discovered a new spot that works with South winds and only 30 minutes away from home... Is it a real alternative or not? I went there a couple of days ago to check it out for the first time, and it seemed to have some potential. Further testing will be needed... The name is, at the very least, unsettling: the "Devil's Farm"...

A great Beauduc! - Kitesurf sessions 117 to 119

A weekend in Beauduc is almost always a promise of a good time... This was one of those times, mixing good conditions with a big bunch of friends, some of which I hadn't seen for more than 2 years!

 

To say that the wind was variable through the weekend is an understatement, since I managed to use all my kites (a 12m, a 9m and a 5.5m) and also try again a 6m Slingshot RPM and a 9m North Vegas (great kites!). And when the wind dialed down, I could have "stolen" a Flysurfer 19m for a little ride, but ended up being too lazy...

 

Due to the new regulations on our favorite Summer spot, Beauduc doesn't feel so much as an "Into the Wild" kind of place as it used too, but it still has it's magic, allowing us to completely disconnect from the daily routine...

 

 

 

As more and more of my kiting friends, I'm getting into strapless surf and, even if for the time being I feel like I'm back at the beginnings, it really opens up a new world! I guess that with some training and a good dose of patience, I'll soon be looking at waves in a different perspective.

 

 

 

 

(a big thanks for Olive and Patrick for the very cool photos in this post)

Rock Da Flat! - Kitesurf Sessions 114 to 116

Some friends with three days off, a camping-car and a forecast for sun and strong wind... That was the perfect combination to head off last Sunday down to the south of France, with Julien, Adèle, Julos and his son. First stop, Frontignan, to try out the spot at the Étang d'Ingril (a good flat area, protected by rock barriers and a road all around).

 

  

The wind was very gusty, but we still managed to get a good session before packing the gear and taking out the beers... The next day we decided to head further southwest to Gruissan, but we couldn't get the camping car through the access to the spot, so we ended up at La Palme instead (another flat spot, kind of like a huge saltwater pond with waist deep water and separated from the sea by a strip of land)...

 

 

With winds busting at 35 knots, we took the 6 and 7m kites for a good spin, with Julos blasting some mean kiteloops across the air. Not bad, but again with gusty winds (enough to "offer" me an involuntary jump forward at one point).

So, to finish of the day, we drove the short distance to Leucate, to check out the spot of the "teleski" (cable park) in Barcarès.

 

 

And that is where the real fun begun! What a totally perfect flat water spot! Even with winds blowing from 28 to 35 knots or more, the water was like a mirror (but still deep enough no to hurt yourself on a bad landing) and the surroundings are beautiful. It was around 19h, so the local kiters where finishing up and we had the place just to ourselves. It was such a dream session that we only got out of the water after 22h, well past sunset...

 

Julos, rockin' da flat!

 

And taking his kid for a spin...

 

A big thank you to Adèle for all the great photos!

Le Jai - Kitesurf Session 113

A nice little session this Saturday in a spot I had never tried, called Le Jai, not very far from Marseille (south of France). Not a lot of room for launching and landing, but it sure is nice to set up your gear on grass for once! I forgot my camera, so I only have a couple of shots taken with my phone...

Rain, cold and then sun... - Kitesurf Sessions 111 and 112

Last Saturday and Sunday meant the opening of the water season for me... I'd seen the forecast was gray and rainy for the first day, but I hadn't seen the sudden fall in temperatures announced, so on Saturday I found myself huddled together with friends inside a van to gather courage to go on the (still very cold) water in Beaduc, in the South of France.

Finally, when I managed to raise my body temperature and after the rain stopped, I got a sudden boost of motivation and got outside to try my friend Julos' 9m Slingshot RPM. Very nice kite, with a great kitelooping ability, but that takes some getting used too, I guess due to it's particular shape. The session was small, but great and I didn't even feel the cold until it was over. I had the brilliant idea to use only my shorty, so as to not get my 5.4 wetsuit wet for next morning's session, so I ended up braving the 9°C temperature with 25/30 knots wind (for an estimate of 4/5°C with the windchill) in "minimal coating", Viking style!

With the night, the sky grew clearer and we managed to find a nice spot protected from the strong winds to have our first barbecue of the season.

On Sunday the weather was much nicer! Sunny all day long and with a strong wind in the morning, that allowed for some a great flat water jump session, while others played in the small waves. If Saturday was still an hostile winter environment, Sunday was definitely our well deserved welcome to the news season! Hopefully, we have many more of these to come...

 

A very special thank you to Olive and Elroliv for the photos in this post, since my lazy ass didn't even got the camera out of the bag this time!

The Dynamic Duo! - Snowkite Session 46

A session with Cyril is always a recipe for success. Every single session we did together this Winter was a good (if not great) one! Last wednesday was no exception: even if there were high clouds covering the sky all day long, the visibility was good and the wind grew stronger all day long, so we could do again one of our "search and destroy" missions, as the two of us love!

Cyril, a man with a mission...

 

And some other nice photos of me taken by Cyril