Very good session at Mandello del Lario (Lake Como), on 12 may, with Foehn wind from NW, at 35 knots, and with a beautifully agitated water surface. Lake Como, but conditions worthy of the best Lake Garda.

Windsurf, session report: Mandello del Lario (Lake Como), 3,7 full power

Foehn wind second consecutive Sunday, on Lake Como (if it were always like this ....), and this time, I decide to change spot and try Mandello Lido, where friends Adriano and Filippo often ride. We liked the spot very much, although loved and frequented by several kiters, both for the logistics on the ground and for the conditions in the water.

I arrive on the spot just before 11.00. Adriano and Filippo are already in the water, respectively with 4.7 and RRD Wave Cult 99 (later, with a Quad 72), and with 4.4 and Tabou Twister 90. Already beautiful and regular waves have risen, and wind not yet so strong.

When choosing my equipment, I decide to rig the Ezzy Elite 4.2 2017, because opting for the 4.7 seems like a gamble, even if I measure not more than 25 knots on the shore. But the lake already looks beautiful rippled in the middle. As for the board, I prepare the Fanatic Quad 87 TE 2013, set with standard fins.

I enter in the water just before 12.00, and I realize instead that the wind is quite strong. I go out from the water, a little later, to depower the sail as possible. I return in the water, but the gusts are really tough; and I think there is no need to linger too much and unnecessarily with 4.2. It is a day for 3.7! I go back to the car and rig the Elite 3.7.

Around 12.30, I am back in the water once again; like that, it is more or less reasonable. The gusts are strong even for the 3.7, but at least I can manage to ride with enough control. When the wind hits, however, I have to open the sail. The water level is really beautiful, in this first part of the session. Long wave, easy to be seen and around a meter and a half high, maybe something more. I jump repeatedly, also because here you jump on starboard tack, my favorite side. In jibe, starting from the crest of a wave, you bear and carve, surfing downhill, and acquiring a really good speed, also because the wind pushes so much. Being overpowered, I understand that it is not convenient to jibe with a too tight radius, so as not to have an apparent wind too strong on me, at the time of tack changing.

At this stage of the session, I am surrounded by kites. I have to be careful (especially near the beach), but there are no serious problems.

At 1.30 pm, I go out to get some rest and to eat. Andrea and Alberto also arrive. I advise both of them to prepare boards and sails as little as possible, and they will thank me .....

At 2.30 pm, I return to the water with them. Today I have fun.... The board is fine, and I ride upwind as much as I want. The session reminds me of Toscolano one (on Lake Garda) some August ago. Until fatigue occurs, I can maneuver discreetly. Only the fast tack, with this chop, and with this board, does not want to enter successfully. There is work to be done ....

It is not very cold, but for May, the temperature is not exactly the late spring one. I use gloves, shoes and hood.

At the end of the day, we will be only 6 windsurfers to have entered the water, in the middle of a lot of Kiters. Frankly, I think Mandello Lido is an undervalued spot. Convenient parking, lawn to rig, bar and services, and sand / pebble beach that doesn't break your feet like the other Mandello exit points. And in the water waves / chop quite nice, as in other spots further north.

I will be back, willingly.

Aloha. Fabio

Here below, video and slidegallery of the day.

The video of the day