Alessandro Cattaneo sent us this nice report of his summer holidays in Karpathos, Greece, which gave him a lot of wind, and excellent windsurfing sessions. Alessandro also provides a lot of useful information about the Greek island spots.

 

WINDSURFING, REPORT: KARPATHOS, GRECIA

Exclusively for Waterwind, here is a small report of our usual windsurfing week, for my unfortunate readers. This year we chose Karpathos; last year's trip of our "Doctor" (aka rrd) had me teased ...

The travel was a little bit adventurous, but in this way I managed to keep the costs of the flight + ferry below the threshold of € 200 / pax all inclusive, which was absolutely necessary since we are four people, in our family (and this year, the direct flights Milan - AOK was about 400-500 per person):
Outward journey to Rhodes with EasyJet, landing at 10.30pm.
The next morning at 07.30 fast ferry to Karpathos, arriving in Pigadia at 11.10.
Return: 19.30 very short flight to Heraklion with SkyExpress + Heraklion - Milan with Ryanair at 22.30.
This allows you to windsurf without problems both on the day of arrival and the day of departure.

 

 

We rented the car and took possession of our apartment in Afiartis, a few minutes walk from the spots. On the first day we broke the ice at Chicken Bay (the most leeward bay and immediately close to the airport), since the young daughter did not master the waterstart. I really didn't like it, too gusty and on/off, a real pain unless you go down a lot, leeward, but at this point you are practically in Gun Bay.
However, I will go back a couple of hours at the beginning of each day, to teach WS to the young daughter ...

We were based at Meltemi Windsurfing in Devil's Bay, a center owned by Slovakian guys, but with staff from all backgrounds (this year 3 Italians, too), already reviewed here, on waterwind, by Pietro and Andrea.
RRD material, Tabou, Fanatic, and Goya (some boards from 3 or 4 years ago, but most of them very recent), especially FSW and some FS.
Gaastra and Duotone sails from 3.0 to 5.3, while the larger ones, together with the freeride / slalom boards, are placed in a separate shelter, which I have never even looked at given the wind that was there
Well-kept, comfortable center with plenty of space available for relaxation and changing. Few people (at most 10-15 sails in the water at the same time), at least in this period. Highly recommended!

Let's get to the point:
4 beautiful days of strong Meltemi, but still manageable: the first 3 days with FSW 87 lt and 3.7 sails in the morning / 3.4 in the afternoon, always strong wind and well spreaded, and it also seemed regular and not gusty to be a wind off / side-off.
Last day with 96 liters and 4.7-4.5, during which I felt like I was sailing on velvet.

 

The level in the water was quite high: on the other hand, those who go out here must have full mastery of the waterstart ... they do not even mount the recovery lines ...
In this regard, a mention to my young girlfriend, who after being recovered 2 consecutive times with the dinghy, on the 2nd day, she patiently dedicated herself to learning the waterstart in Chicken Bay under my guidance; so much so that on the last day she managed to go out independently in Devil's Bay with the 96 lt and 3.0 !!! Good, good, good!
There were also 3 or 4 skilled freestylers; it was a pleasure to see them trying moves, and it was an incentive not to flatten yourself on the usual four maneuvers.

Two words on the boards used:
- Tabou 3s+ 87 2022: my favorite on this holiday. Fast, but not too much, perhaps thanks to the thruster set-up, soft in following the chop and lively when you wanted to go and look for some ramp to jump. Perfect for the Pra (editor's note: the famous lake Garda spot) in my opinion ....
- Fanatic FSW 86: almost as the 3s+, it is always very low and cuts very well the crossed chop that sometimes is created when there is traffic in the water.
- RRD FSW 96: it almost seemed like a freeride , very stable and easy but perhaps too much.
- Goya One 3 86: a thoroughbred horse, very light (Carbon construction) and lively, but it frightened me a little (especially for fear of ruining it ....)

It was very nice also the spot pseudo wave of Luv / Agrilapotamos, a few kilometers from the airport.
You start riding abeam in correspondence with the reef, where a small wave of 1 m maximum rises, which is pleasant to ride upon returning. To try next time!
Beautiful sandy beach, with some permanent campers and with a tavern / kite and windsurf rental center Naish ( www.naishgreatdayz.com / - it seemed a little expensive to be honest); I saw that they also come out a few hundred meters upwind, with less crowding but some more inconvenience to get into the water.

As for apartments, taverns etc, I don't feel like giving any particular advice. Wide choice and very pleasant people and atmospheres, as almost always in Greece.
Special mention for the Karolina Beach Bar, with a fantastic view of Devil's Bay and the gliding windsurfers, with excellent salads, gyros dishes and burgers for a lunch break that fills your eyes and soul with blue.

Truly an island of rare beauty.

Hang loose. Alessandro

 

 

The video that recaps the holiday