Today, for the first time, we tried the legendary French spot of Carro, near Marseille. Windsurfing conditions really challenging, with a special guest: Thomas Traversa.

Windsurfing, session report: 25 April 2019, Carro with South-East at 40 knots

Just to be clear, I say right away that most of my South African sessions in January were easier ...

The average wind for a good part of the day was about 30 knots ...

When I arrived at the spot, at around 11,00, the spot didn't seem so huge, but I soon had to change my mind, and I decided to rig the Ezzy Elite 3.7, combined with the Fanatic Quad TE 87 2013.

Before entering the water, I met Paolo di Parma. We exchanged advice on the sail to use. Paolo confirmed to me that he has not seen Carró in such conditions, so far.

In short, in the morning, I didn't ride so much. The wind, especially on the gusts, was violent. Moreover, near the shore there were several foams, often steep, and even 1.5/2 meters high. To meet one of these waves while it was breaking almost certainly meant a beautiful wipe out. The first time I tried, the spot didn't even let me pass, and, thanks to the very strong current on the shore, it sent me back to the rocky leeward plateau, fortunately without any damage. The famous Carró plateau turned out to be insidious, but not really terrible, and above all not so full of sea urchins as they say (or at least, I was lucky). The second time the sea let me pass (it was also a matter of luck). But outside the situation was unmanageable, and with the 3.7, I practically couldn't even sail. I returned to shore quite early.

Paolo, on the other hand, defended himself well in the water both for his 87 kgs, compared to my 70 kgs, and for his good skills.

Corrado, also light weighted, could not hold the 3.4. Morning decidedly more suitable for heavyweights ...

In the afternoon, the local riders who had escaped from work gradually arrived, and at around 14.00 his majesty Thomas Traversa also arrived. Thomas immediately struck me for the attention to details: before entering the water he warmed up a bit, and in the first rides he repeatedly returned to the shore to do some adjustments.  Think about that ....

That said, in the water Traversa turned out to be of another level respect to all the others: high jumps, 360 on the wave, in short with him in the water the spot seemed easy ....

At about 3.30 pm after eating, I decided to try again, having caught a slight wind drop (but on a gust, I still measured 41 knots on the shore ...). It went much better than in the morning, and maybe I even overcame my fear for the spot.

I managed to get over the foams, and go out several times, and I got punches, but gave some too...

The most impressive sight in the afternoon was the 3/4 meter surfable waves at 150 meters from the shore. Unluckily, they had about the same direction as the wind, and that near the shore there was the rocky plateau to wait ... In fact, some boards ended up on the rocks, fortunately without any particular consequences. And here I had confirmation of the fact that as for the wave board, until you are not too good, it is better not to spend too much money....

Going out, I made some remarkable jumps, also due to the considerable wind force (including an half-forward, almost involuntary....).

On the way back, riding down from those waves and take speed made a certain impression, and confirmed the importance of neutralizing the sail in such circumstances. I also got some nice wipe-outs....

Shortly after 17.00, considering myself satisfied, I closed my session.

Soon I will publish a detailed review of the spot. Shortly, I begin to tell you that with South East, I was struck by the size of the waves, but I expected their quality to be better. But probably as confirmed by the most expert of the spot, the wind during our session, had too many jumps from the South, which messed up the water level. In fact, the wind was often not side, but side-on / on. They say that the top condition is with a sea of South East and West wind, or the opposite. We hope soon to test it even in these conditions.

Below you have a short selection of photos taken on the spot.

Enjoy the entire spectacular slidegallery of the day calmly by clicking here (low resolution photos are free; high resolution photos are available upon payment of a small contribution to Waterwind - free for Waterwind Supporters).

Hang loose. Fabio

The video of the day, which gives a good idea of the conditions ...