First session at Pier, in Riva del Garda, finally with a typical summer climate, and a sunny day that made the wonderful Lake Garda views shine bright. A day full of pleasant, and fun meetings ... and proved useful for two tests.

Windsurfing: Pier (Lake Garda), 1 June 2019. Summer has arrived!

Saturday morning, my friend Andrea and I left for the Pier, at around 8.30. We were aware that the feast of Pentecost, as usual, would bring a nice crowd of German tourists to the lake, but we did not imagine that the parking lot of the Pier could already be sold out at 10.30! When friends told us the situation, while we were on the road, we had a moment of panic, but we didn't lose heart, and we thought about how to solve it. To make it short: we discharged our equipment at the Pier (also recovering that one of our friend Alessio), and then we parked in Limone del Garda. Andrea, the doctor, alias Ironman, then, took a nice romantic walk along the cycle-pedestrian walkway between Limone and Riva. Here is what that walkway is really for!

In short, a nice start .... but then once inside the Pier, the only atmosphere you breathe, has raised us! But it was also nice meet many friends and many familiar faces ....

La Ora started to blow, as usual here, at around 12.00. I immediately rigged the Ezzy Elite 5.3 2019, bought from recharge-store.com, to complete the test, and with the idea of ​​getting into the water as soon as possible (even with less intense wind), to take advantage of a better water surface (flatter), which characterizes the lake (and I like so much) before too many riders come into the water. As for the board, this time, I prepared the Tabou 3s 106 2015 (you got it right, not my usual 2013), recently bought (a used item), since I was struck by the slightly more wave-oriented shape of that year version. I took it to Pier, believing it to be an optimal spot to test it. And so it was.

At 1.00 pm, the Ora wind reached the usual 18-20 knots, minimum wage for the Pier..., and everyone immediately entered the water. I ate something on the fly, and I got in the water at 1.30pm. The sail was just right. I had in mind to switch to 4.7, but then I kept it for the whole session, until I left the water, at around 4.00pm. The Elite 2019, which I had already tried with satisfaction in the excellent session at the Prà, on last May 1st, confirms itself to be a wonderful sail, which in addition to having the legendary qualities of Ezzy, is proving even lighter in the hands than the previous versions.... Some more testing sessions. and I will publish the article with the test result.

But what, at least for me, made the session really satisfying, was the test of the Tabou 3S 2015. I was looking for a more dynamic board, and the 2015 version is like that indeed. I will soon publish the complete article with the test, but I can anticipate that this board turned out to be very fun and easy, with a distribution of volumes consistent with the idea of ​​making a more wave-oriented board, and the same idea is clear looking at the tail design. Fabien Volleinweider is really a brilliant shaper.

The wind remained good, until around 15.00, then it fell slightly. It was definitely not the best Pier day, but I enjoyed it anyway, and when the wind gave up a bit, I went looking for the strongest wind at the so called "pigs" rock.

I returned to the spot terrace, at around 16.00, and when I came out of the water, I made the mistake of asking my friend Livia if she wanted to take a ride on my board. How to ask a child if he/she wants to dive in a giant jar of Nutella .... What I didn't expect, was that the girl would have entered the water in bath suit !!! Ok, yesterday there were 27-28 °C, but the lake water temperature, although not chilly, is still around 13 degrees, due to this rainy May. I went out without surf shoes or cap, but with a 5/4 wetsuit! Livia made us worry (for my equipment, of course!), but she proved she could do it, and never falling into the water, she brought my stuff back to me after 15 minutes. And obviously on the shore, a nice dive took place. What windsurfing abstinence does!

The afternoon end was extremely pleasant: with Andrea, Michele, Sergio and Thomas, we relaxed and enjoyed a beautiful Weiss (me and Andrea), a beer (Mik) and Spritz (the "german" team) at the bar of Hotel Pier, chatting and laughing about our various last adventures.

The summer at Garda has really started, and we really want to enjoy it all!

Hang loose. Fabio

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