We will remember yesterday, for a long time, on Lake Garda, since we enjoyed many hours of strong wind, from Limone to Desenzano. We went windsurfing at Crero, in Torri del Benaco.

 

Windsurfing, report: Crero, Lake Garda, 13/09/2024. A day to remember!

 

Who said that the Foehn doesn't blow over Lake Garda? If it is strong, and if you go and catch it in the right spots, it can offer really good conditions for windsurfing and other water sports.

After consulting the Arome model, on Saturday evening, I decided to head to a spot on the Verona shore. I chose to try the legendary Crero spot, in the municipality of Torri del Benaco, and, eventually, to move on Sunday morning, at dawn, to Assenza, further north, in case of negative signals.

It was in fact clear from the forecast model maps that the NNW orientation of the Foehn would have crushed the wind mainly on the eastern coast of the lake, while on the western one, at least near the shore, the wind would have been unstable. And so it was: in fact, they told me that at Pra de la Fam, until 10 in the morning, the wind struggled to enter near the beach, while further offshore it was already strong. And Arome gave a stronger wind in the central lake shore than in Malcesine (and the Malcesine windmeter, in fact, did not show significant intensity in the early morning).

At Crero, however, when I woke up, the wind was already quite strong at 7:00 in the morning, except for some momentary drops, near the beach. So, there was no need to explore other spots.

It was my first time at Crero, and I must say that I liked the spot. Reasonably comfortable logistics, and waves, for which the spot is known, quite high (as for a lake spot).

Shortly after I woke up, I was joined by two other top riders of the Waterwind Team: Scuffia and Alohale. In the meantime, the rest of the locals of the spot also arrived.

Looking at the water surface, I decided to rig the Goya Guru X Pro 4.2, with the boom fixed to the lower clew ring. And I prepared the Tabou 3S plus 96 with the K4 Stubby 11 as side fins, and MFC TF-FW 20 as central one.

 

Click here for the beautiful slide gallery of the morning  

 

I must say right away that, as far as the board is concerned, Garda made me pay once again for the mistake of having left the smallest equipment at home (see also the session at Malcesine on September 1st). In short, I couldn't bring with me my Da Curve 80, which yesterday would have been the right board, perhaps paired with a 3.4....

I entered the water just before 8. A few rides were enough to understand that the 4.2 was definitely big, especially offshore. So I didn't hesitate, and quickly returned to the shore, to switch to the Ezzy Elite 3.7.

Back in the water, I had a good hour of great fun. It was one of those sessions, in less than ideal conditions, but full of adrenaline.

First of all, yesterday at Crero, there was a really impressive water level, to be a lake spot. Waves even higher than a meter, quite steep, which in some places were also well spaced, and were surfable backside. In other areas of the water surface, however, especially offshore, they were chaotic, and very close each other (two - three meters), and made the outgoing ride a nightmare, due to the continuous bounces. Even maneuvering, offshore, was not easy, due to the water level, but also due to the gusts, often really strong. When gybing, I leaned on the steep wall of the wave to bear away, but I soon found myself on the back of the next wave. And the wave on which I gybed, was often so steep, that, in combination with the gust, it took me to luff again! I tried to play with experience, and technique, and I managed to do something good in the first hour. As I said, it was nice to surf the waves (see video), jump (some ramps were really steep), and also gybe, seizing the right moment, going down in the wave trough.

 

 

And it was also nice to ride with Scuffia and Alohale (the battle name of the two Alessandros), at the moment of the morning when we were better in control. Congratulations to Scuffia, who, despite his fears of not being up to the conditions of the spot, rode quite well. Alessandro, you have the minimum technical skills to taste the waves of the sea, and experience the beauty of waveriding which is almost another sport.

The other thing that struck me yesterday was the fact that I continued to go upwind, even though I wasn't trying to sail closed-hauled. The volume of the board was the cause of this circumstance. To return to the exit point, I sailed on a broadside, which, with the strong wind and the waves at the board tail, was not at all trivial.

After 9:00, the wind further strengthened, and at this point I was definitively penalized by my inadequate equipment. I entered the water two more times, but it was more survival than anything else. Impossible to handle the almost 40 knots.

I finally got out of the water just before 11:00, very tired.

Yesterday, there were 10-15 windsurfers on the spot, several with more suitable equipment, and who sailed better, in the water. Some wing foils, including Alberto from Detour shop, who danced among the waves (see video and photos), enjoying the conditions to the fullest. Another thing I liked about the spot was the absolutely reasonable crowding.

Before leaving, I also stopped to chat pleasantly with Marco from Verona, another old acquaintance of Waterwind forum, with whom we talked about Wing, Surfing, and more.

I stayed on Garda until the early afternoon, due to personal commitments, and I was able to see that yesterday the wind blew for a really long time and with considerable intensity all the way down to the southern lake shore (in Desenzano, yesterday, there were still 50-60 km/h at 16:00). I know of some who spent 6 hours in the water, in three different spots. Anti-doping tests will start.....

In short, Garda, yesterday, prepared us well for the waves at sea spots.

Aloha. Fabio

 

Click here for the beautiful slide gallery of the morning (pics partially by Alex Cattaneo)

 

 

Video of the session