Today, Lake Garda gave me a nice birthday party ..... A nice Peler, at almost 25 knots, for more than two hours was the beautiful gift that the lake gave me for my 50 years, made just today.

Windsurfing, Prà de la fam (Lake Garda), 08/25/2019: happy birthday!

Yes, I arrived at the turning point ..... What has changed? For now, nothing ... We will see, in the coming years, if I can emulate some stainless windsurfers who, over the age of 60, still have fun in the waves ....

But let's get to the news of the day.

I cut this day out of my usual family commitments. At 9.00 pm last night, I left from home for Prà de la fam, on Lake Garda. It was from May that I had not gone out here, for one reason or another, and I must say that I really missed it. Prà for me is more than a windsurfing spot, it is a place in my soul. Already arriving at the parking lot, when it's already dark, and enjoying the peace of the place, relaxes me and calms me deeply.

And, this morning, it was nice to spend the first dawn of my 50 years, having breakfast sitting on a low wall by the lake side.

Finally, this was an opportunity to meet my friend Giacomo at the spot. He is always very much committed to studying for the goal of taking a medical degree. But today, he took a break, and he also came to enjoy the Pra with his father. Some small trick related to logistics, next time, will allow him to enjoy it even more ....

The Peler, as expected at Prà, began to enter the spot around 7.30. Sensing that it would have been a typical Peler day, I rigged the Ezzy Elite 4.7 2017, leaving it quite fat. As a board, I prepared the Tabou 3S 106 LTD 2015. The pairing of two itmes was perfect, and very funny, as you can understand from the video at the bottom of the article ..... The Tabou rides perfectly in the chop of the lake, in these conditions. I was overpowered, only occasionally, in the middle of the lake. Near the shore, the wind, especially in the initial part of the session, was a bit unstable, with some moments, in which it was not enough to glide. But this condition did not last long. And you had just to go offshore a little bit to find better wind.

I must say that I really enjoyed the water surface conditions .... and that I prefer it the ones I, generally, find in Malcesine, at least, when I go out at Retelino parking. There, it is often too chaotic, mainly due to the traffic of kiters and windsurfers in the water, unless the Peler enters at more than 30 knots; in this case, the long wave raised by the wind prevails over that one due to sailors.

At Prà, instead, except, in some moments near the shore, the water level is more orderly: being the spot more southern, the Peler probably has time to raise a long regular wave, rather amusing, even if, in these conditions, it is not always easy to close the fast tack, in the center of the lake.

The session was satisfying for me. I keep improving, and I understand some more details about the fast tack and the power jibe. It was a pity that when the wind dropped, after more than two hours in the water, I was tired. Otherwise, I would have taken better advantage of the final part of the session, with a light wind, to practice with Hely Tack, backwinded stance, and clew first sailing.

Suddenly, my friend Davide Migliorati from Salò came out from nowhere in the water, and showed me how to close a fast and textbook Hely tack (see video). Davide, as well as with the trusted Goya Banzai (2020?), Entered the water with a new Quatro board (impressions Davide?).

At the spot, many other familiar faces, which is always a pleasure to meet. Plenty of Germans/Austrians, who love the spot, were still present.

Hang loose. Fabio

A brief slidegallery of the day

The video of the session