Today, 21 August 2022, it was another spectacular windsurfing day at Pra de la fam (Lake Garda), which made up for yesterday's subdued one. Durable Peler, only partially disturbed by the foehn.

WINDSURFING: PRÀ DE LA FAM (LAKE GARDA), 21 AUGUST 2022

And they lived happily ever after ..... So the fairy tales end. And we, at Pra, we often feel like in a fairytale. Windsurfing is a game that lets us remain a little bit children, sometimes a little immature, maybe a little crazy, but it helps us to have some fun and forget every day life issues ....

But I should tell you that the Pra today turned out to be a very bad spot, that the wind was a s***, to try to reduce the attendance of the spot, which, at least on the ground in the summer, has become quite a mess (in the water, at the moment, with a little attention, there are not too many problems). Obviously, we would not be very credible, and beyond what I can write, the Pra is a great spot, and it speaks for itself. It is not easy to find solutions. The car park has now become a campsite with some regular guests, and should also have facilities (adequate sanitary facilities, for example). Moreover, the stretch of coast that benefits from an excellent Peler, is not limited to the Pra beach, but extends far to the north, where the shore, however, is more inaccessible. If you have any ideas in mind, try to suggest it (in the forum, or in the comments below).

In addition to more adequate services, perhaps the Municipality could organize a shuttle from some parkings in the area, to reduce the number of cars that have to park, given that expanding the parking lots is problematic. Or, a dinghy service as for kiters; and / or make the stretches of coast north of the beach more accessible.  

But let's go back to the chronicle of the day. The Pra', today, really made me have fun. The expected Foehn was less disturbing than one might have imagined. Probably, he was weaker than initially assumed, and, therefore, the thermal component, which was really strong today, was prevalent.

I slept in Tignale, which is confirmed as a very nice village, with an extraordinary view of the lake. I discovered and tried the pizzeria / restaurant Ruculì, which I recommend, and then I got off at 6:00 this morning on the spot, and I parked near the Limonaia (Lemon Garden).

Already descending from the road that leads from Tignale to Gardesana road, I could see that the Peler had entered well, and was arriving just south of Salò. I waited a bit of time to understand the situation well; I let the sun rise from the Baldo, to make the wind spread as well as possible even near the shore, and up to the beach, and then I went into water with the Ezzy Elite 4.2, with a loosen leech, and some belly below, to leave it powerful, but also neutral; and I must say it was a fantastic choice.

I matched it with the Tabou Pocket 94, set as a trifin with the K4 fins, to have the board a little "softer" under my feet. I must say that my equipment was overall perfect: the nice thing, which made me prefer today's session even to last Saturday's one (read report), when a photonic Peler blew, was precisely the fact that I was always in control with board and sail at all times of the sessions.

The Peler, as I said, was of good quality, and only in a few moments a few gusts of Foehn from NW stopped it a bit, moving it away from the shore, and making the part of the spot closest to the beach subject to some momentary wind drop; while offshore, the wind was never lacking. But I must say that these moments have always lasted very little, and therefore overall conditions were really enjoyable. Another noteworthy thing is that never, like this time, have I ridden so much upwind, gaining so much water to the North. Basically, I arrived North of the Lemon house North of the spot, and if I wanted to, I could have reached the Hotel Forbisicle.

I am very satisfied with the way I maneuvered, consolidating the planing jibe well (on the starboard tack it still needs some practice to be perfected); I also tried several Duck Jibes, and I realized that you have to get in quite fast with the board in full plane, but not too much! Because I attempted one in full power glide, in which I fell, with an equally full power dive, 3-4 m in front of the board. I thank that the front foot got out of the strap, left wide, in time, because otherwise I would have shattered my ankle ... And in windsurfing, if you try hard, you can really hurt yourself ...

The only regret of the day was that of not having dared more with the forward loop, because today there were some really nice ramps. I made some good jumps, in control, also very high. One in particular is printed in my memory: a 1 meter ramp, steep, taken with the right speed made me take off. However, once in the air, I managed to make the board take wind from below, that is from the hull, tilting it to downwind, as my skillest friends suggested to me, but a psychological block prevented me, once again, from triggering the subsequent forward rotation.

I should still be in the water tomorrow, when there will be another good Peler and try again immediately; unfortunately I'll be at work tomorrow.

I took some pictures . Not many (184 ....), because I candidly admit that, in the end, I preferred to enjoy the beautiful conditions and not spend too much time on the shore. But I've done a few to everyone, and some of them are really beautiful (this time too, I congratulate myself, even if the credit is mainly due to the Panasonic Lumix FZ-300).

Thanks Garda also this time .... but do go to Lake Geneve.... which is much better!

Hello. Fabio

Click here, for the full slidegallery fo the day.