51km Defi race training session

It is less than two weeks until the Defi wind race. I'm now officially a bit nervous about having signed up for this 1,000 windsurfer race where each heat is 40 km long.

GPS trail of the 51km session

I had been watching the wind reports and Sunday was supposed to be windy in Gruisson where the race is held. So I hopped in the car and drove to do some reconnaisance.

Luckily there was still wind when I got there at 3:30pm, in fact it had been building. I rented some gear from the rental shop on the beach and headed out. I was fully powered on a 5.0 and 100 litre board. In fact, the boom clamp line snapped, but luckily I was able to swim back to the beach against the 30 knot wind to effect repairs. After that I stayed even closer to the beach in the offshore winds that were now gusting to 40. I downhauled the sail a bit more to make it less powerful.

Solid wind while I was sailing!

I sailed 51k in 1hour and 50 minutes (around 15 minutes of which were spent adjusting gear.) Towards the end I was feeling more comfortable with the speed.

Some mental notes: I'll need to wear sunglasses for the race. The sand blowing off the beach and spray from passing windsurfers is blinding. Last year the winds built from 20 knots on day one to 50+ knots on day 4. I also really think I need to rent some true slalom gear. The 50 or so other guys out were all practising on serious slalom equipment (I like the look of the Mauisails TR5). I did still hit 50km/h toward the end of some runs. I nailed virtually all my jibes which was nice, but didn't try any tricks. There were only two freestylers out.

50 km/h at the end of each broad reach!

Thanks to the shop Pole Nautique Gruisson on the beach, they were very kind despite my poor French, and didn't even demand a security deposit. Just pay now and bring it back when you are finished. The other guys on the beach were all friendly too. Merci beaucoup!