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Friday 4^thMay 2012 – windsurfing **** cloudy :(   

Woke up to a breeze and cloudy :( did exercises on the beach and had breakfast.  We left the beach at Piemanson just as the horses were about to have their gallop on the beach :)  Visited the Petit Casino in Salin-de-Giraud for some bread then drove along an 11km stretch of pot holed cart track to another beach – Beauduc which although very similar to look at and with nearly as many campers and caravans they were mainly kiters with a sand buggy and 2 windsurfers.  We had to drive through water to get here which is always a bit of a worry but the beach was mainly hard enough to drive on and we parked up further away from the sea than some! It is a lovely horse shoe bay with the wind coming across from the left meaning it was coming over the land which made it a bit gusty. It didn’t seem that windy so went big with 8.5 and took the long board out, a pain really as I had to carry it a couple of hundred metres to the water!!! I carefully beat out a mile or so to the corner of the bay to check the depth and found it just okay if I didn’t go too close inshore. I returned to my launch place and seeing Mag shell collecting went to go in and ran aground breaking my fin box again :( I managed to push the fin straight and continued to sail for 2/3 hours exploring the corner of the bay, I did have a batten break but I managed to tape it up ashore and fingers crossed it will be okay??? It seems every time I go out I break something :( It seems that windsurfing is definitely a dying sport with 3 windsurfers out against 30/50 kites and they were having much more fun and they didn’t have to worry about the shallow water – must get myself a couple of kites when I get home!!! But it was two of us windsurfers who helped rescue a German kiter whose lines were tangled!!! So not a bad day sailing although it would have been nice to sun some sunshine!!!!

Mag spent the day collecting shells (there were some that are usually hard to find which makes a nice change:)) and walking in the dunes with the binoculars hoping to see something different and was rewarded with a pied flycatcher and a chiffchaff, both new to her :) We didn’t eat lunch until I got back at nearly 4 so we had both been occupied for nearly 4 hours!  When I packed up we went for a wander up the beach and back via the dunes.  There are lots of people staying on the beach but a long way from us. Some of the kiters where out at 9 when it was nearly dark!!! Fingers crossed for a return to the nice weather tomorrow!!!

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Fanatic Cat and Tushingham Lightning 8.5 = 24.80kts