Wing foiling in France!

 12 years ago I visited Almanarre / Hyeres and windsurfed and windsurfed on the east side of the peninsula on an onshore east wind day. On an east wind the offshore glassy water on the west side looks great but also a bit scary when you are alone.

Post session smile!

Jen and I had had a good time taking our niece and nephews Hobie sailing earlier that morning in Sanary-Sur-mer. (It was a the same place I taught the kids to windsurf 2 days ago.) So I was alone in the surprisingly nice Corolla hybrid station wagon rental.

Morning sailing session with niece and nephews

My first stop was at the windward beach where a few small rental operations were out on the water. There was also huge sailboat regatta offshore! A local recommended the UCPA just a bit farther along the peninsula. I went there but they were closed for the holidays - one of the staff pointed me to the nearby Fanatic store which gives lessons and rentals. Talking to the gentleman there, the don’t rent wing foil gear because it all comes back damaged. I suggested that I’m a pretty good rider but he put me onto the phone number of another shop who might do rentals.

There was a huge sailing regatta on the east side

The Duotone rental centre that wouldn’t rent wingfoil gear

I chatted with Joe from MF Kite and he was helpful but said it was too late for a 3.5 hour rental and lesson. No, I just want a one hour rental. What gear? A 6.0 and 110l board. Yes. I’m on my way. 7 minutes later I was presenting my drivers license and collecting gear. Do I launch through all the boats in the marina. No, just take the gear to to beach in your car. I’m good with a shorty in the 22c air and 20c water. No we only rent long wetsuits at this time of year. What about the offshore wind? Don’t worry, no one ever gets lost, there are lots of kite operators who might help. Any rocks? Nope just gradual sand! 

The MF Kite rental centre

Ok then, I was happy I had a station wagon (still had to take the mast off the board) and quickly loaded up and headed to the west side beach I’ve admired but never launched from. I reassembled the board, pumped up my wing and hid my keys.

A nice long first part of my session 100% on the foil with 5 jibes

The wind would eventually drop on me

Off I went. A few quick pumps and I was going. I actually did several runs and many jibes and didn’t fall in for 15+ minutes. It was easy to stay upwind and fun to be out with around 2 dozen other wingers, a dozen kiters, a dozen windfoilers and a dozen windsurfers. So 40% wing, 20% kites, 20% windfoilers and 20% windsurfers.

Good rental gear

After a few more runs the wind dropped big time. Kites were falling, wingers were slogging and only a few kite foilers and pro windfoilers with 8m sails were going. I slogged upwind practicing some wing handling and enjoying the warm water and nice sunset.

Yup, we are in France!

Sunset in Almanarre and the end of our trip

I went back to MF Kite and returned the gear. I had a huge smile on my face on the drive back to Jen’s parents’ rental. We head to Toronto in 36 hours but my first wing foil in France hopefully won’t be my last!

Fun in the south of France at the Funboard centre!

It was the first time in 11 years since I’ve been back to the south of France. 420 blog posts later and the French name of my blog makes sense a bit again! One of the first stops after we arrived in Provence was to check out Le Jai Beach right by the Marseilles airport. I’d taken a selfie there years ago:

Visiting my old windsurfing spot - Le Jai

My blog post from 11 years ago (they repainted the statue)

Still busy at the end of October

Foiling is popular

View from the Le Jai car park

Jen and I are now visiting her parents and decided to take a trip to the Almanarre / Hyeres region and see what the different Windsurfing spots had to offer. I had been there just once in the year we lived in Provence. I was eager to get back and see what the conditions were like.

Gonna be fun at the Funboard Center!

We drove first to the Funboard Center. We talked to Eric Thieme the owner (and famous PWA sailor) and it looked like pretty good wind but maybe a bit side offshore and sheltered to get going until it built a bit more. He had got windsurf and Windfoil gear but no wing foil gear. So we decided to take a look at a couple other spots including spinout.Fr

Fanatic gear at Spinout.fr and Almanarre in the distance

Checking out the east side kite beach

East side kite beach panorama

West side beach panorama

There are lots of other kite surf beaches but no other rental gear I could find. It was interesting that pretty much everywhere we went there was an equal mix of 1/4 Windsurfing 1/4 wind foiling 1/4 kiting and 1/4 wing foiling. The French really seem to be getting into every kind of wind and water sport. What was really amazing was for Wednesday at the end of October how many people were out on the water in all of the different locations. Of course it helps that the weather was 24°C! 

After looking around a couple of different places we decided to go back to Funboard Center. We had some nice quick delicious salads but I was eager to get going. I took a Tahe 130 with a pretty big foil underneath it was perfect. I just could head out of the wind shadow a little bit with the 6.2 Neil Pryde sail and get going. I had both feet in the straps and was cruising on the buttery smooth water as there’s a nice long and low peninsula that keeps the water smooth but the wind pretty steady.

I sailed for the full hour that I had rented and got to see Jen out stand up paddle boarding a bunch of times on my jibes on the way in. It really is spectacular to be here.

Nice to support a fellow Fanatic school!

All smiles!

Erik Thieme and me!

Windfoiling in Almanarre - halfway down the peninsula 

My GPS trail shows that I did 18 km in the hour I was out and was planing for 60% of the time. I think I need to get back down here at least another time in the next four days that we’re here.