Saturday 28 October 2023, the Spiaggia d'Oro of Imperia offered one of the many days of windsurfing celebrations that this spot can give us. Challenging but not extreme conditions, at times quite fun.

 

Windsurfing, report: Spiaggia d'Oro, Imperia, 28/10/2023

 

After the special day of October 27th with XXL conditions in Diano and Imperia (read report), Saturday should have been the best day on paper. The Libeccio seemed to have disappeared, and instead it came back to blow with unusual frequency in western Liguria.

I woke up in Diano Castello, greeted by a beautiful sunny day. The Ligurian trip also helped me put my mind back a bit....

While I was having breakfast, I checked the Arome forecast for the day again, noting an improvement in the wind direction (more from SW than W), which, together with the duration, promised an interesting day, with a possible exit also in the nearby spot of Andora .

I drove down to Diano Marina, met with Adriano, and together we headed towards Imperia.

With a little patience we found parking, and sat on the beach to enjoy the sunny day, still incredibly hot, waiting for the wind to return. And shortly after, the miracle happened. Finally, I managed to catch myself in an advert again, with Marco Elia, a rider from Turin whom I met 10 years ago in Andora, when I was still a "chicken", and he was already a promising young windsurfer, and with whom we shared some legendary rides (Rabina, Garda, many times in Andora). Marco is very nice and very simple, one of those characters who only does good in the world of amateur windsurfing. Around 12.00, the wind, which until then had already been lying offshore, began to approach the shore. In short, Arome's forecast was fully respected, with strong winds across the entire spot from 12.30-1pm until around 5.30pm, when the last ones left the water.

The wind came in very quickly, as I feared, even too quickly. A discreet wave also started to rise.

 

 

 

When I saw the first ones enter the water, I quickly started rigging, but I immediately realized that the 4.7 would already be big. So, I armed the Ezzy Elite 4.2, to combine with the Tabou Da Curve 88. I did a quarter of an hour and returned to shore, because even the 4.2 was unmanageable!

I brought out the heavy artillery: the Ezzy Elite 3.7, and the Tabou Da Curve 80..... Marco (Elia) moved to the 3.3...., Adriano to the 4.0.

With this set, the conditions were better manageable, even if some gusts made even the 3.7 pretty full. I started having fun trying to catch some waves. The central phase of the day was the best, with a surfable wave that became of good quality - around 2 metres, and with a manageable sail in surfing. For the first time, I also managed to land 3 bottoms on a wave here at d'Oro, with some satisfaction. Despite Andrea Franchini's advice ("you have to be fast"), there was no way to veer offshore, in the midst of those mountains of water, on the 80 litre....

The spot got crowded. There was also a good presence of French riders, and even some Germans (on holiday). I have to say that the precedence rules were a bit broken (see the video of the day), and it was necessary to be a little careful. I prefer to ride a wave rather than do damage.

 

 

Anyway, it was a nice day. We spent many hours in the water (some I think even 4-5....), and on the beach, with the possibility of entering several times, and returning to shore to rest and chat. I saw so many really happy and smiling faces. In the second part of the day, there were also moments when the wind increased further, making sailing with the 3.7 difficult. I can't stand being over-hyped. I still don't want to get the 3.4, since I would also have to buy another boom, and the 340 top, in addition to the sail. But then, on these days, it would be the right sail for me.

At the end of the day the sea became messier, with the wave becoming steep and surfable, almost only on the shore. Alberto commented on the day by saying that essentially the d'Oro gave us fun conditions even if "dirty". It seems like a fair summary to me. The videos and photos I took, however, account for a pleasant day. There were often similar days in these parts...

 

 

At this point, I decided that I was satisfied with my day, and after bidding farewell to the others, I began the journey home. And this time, it only took me 2 hours 40 minutes by car to get to Monza. Like in the good old days, when there weren't just construction sites and trucks....

Ciao. Fabio

Click here for the slidegallery of the day

 

Enjoy the beautiful video from the day, live