Thursday 21st May – windsurf * La Franqui – sunny – nw- 40/50 mph :( 
Fanatic speed – 5.2 – 20 cm fin – 34.90kts :(

This is the first French trip we have ever driven straight down to La Franqui because the forecast looked good. We made in two days having a lovely overnight on the Loire near Bonny sur Loire :) and made it to our nice spot on the Etang near Bages and it was blowing a gale !!!! After a windy night the wind seemed to have dropped a little so we headed for the wooden pier at La Franqui and I was pleased to see a few cars already on the beach including some from France, Italy and Belgium and were very pleased to see Patrick Deporter who we had met on a previous trip to la Franqui and are now really good friends on Facebook – a top bloke :) There was much reading of wind gauges with nobody keen to be the guinea pig and be first on the water but then Patrick’s Italtian friend rigged 5.6 and took to the water as the wind seemed to pick up to 30 mph+. I decided that as I haven’t been on the speed board for 19 months!!!! to err on the side of caution and go with 5.2 which is a nightmare to get the mast in as a bit of material near the head of the sail stops you sleeving the mast !!! :( After a bit of swearing, poking about with a battern and Patrick’s help I did it. I then had to tape a hole in the top panel before setting off to the water. The wind was building all the time and it showed I hadn’t been speedsailing for ages as I really struggled. I had a job to get going, found getting back upwind difficult as, with wind now reaching 50 mph+, I didn’t want to sail out of my depth. The first run was only 33kts followed by a 34kt run and then I found the conditions all but unsailable - way too rough for me to be in any sort of control :( and spinning out too – I need a lighter wind day to find my feet. Patrick was going well before he had to head for home – a 12 hour trip. I gave up and even had trouble de-rigging in the gale!!! Mag was quite happy having a look for shells while being sand blasted and then staying in the van (rocking violently!) on the computer with the doors firmly shut because the sand was filling every nook and cranny!! It was then a case of chucking everything in the back of the van and getting to the peace and quiet of our lovely spot at Port Mahon near Sigean where we could de-sand the van and relax for a couple of hours reading and forgetting about poxy speedsailing before going on a great 5mile walk around the lovely Etang. I do think I am coming to the end of speedsailing – difficult to see what the point is???? We have been to La Franqui far too many times and been battered by 50 mph+ winds!!!! Whatever happened to 30 mph wind days where you could have some fun?

PS - lucky for me it was a crap session as the lock switch on the sd card had again been pushed to lock and I lost the crap session !!!