Abbadia Lariana is one of my favorite spots on Como Lake to windsurf with the wind from the north. The long beach , which is hit almost perpendicular by the North winds, forgive even those who are inexperienced , and loose some water after every fall.

 

Windsurf spot reviews: Abbadia Lariana (Como Lake)

The spot is located at the very beginning of Abbadia Lariana (coming from the South), the first village after Lecco , from which is 7 km away (see map below). So, it is reached from Milan , on average, in only 50/60 minutes. You get into water from the beach at the Garden " Ulysses Guzzi", a nice garden of Olive trees by the lake (fairly sheltered from the wind), very nice also to relax in the sun, play beach volleyball, etc. . In summer it is open a kiosk in the garden to get food. Otherwise, continuing north along the beach, there is the camping site "Spiaggia" bar, where you can also stay overnight. Out of season, for lunch, it is better to take something from home. There is good parking facilities (fees apply except in winter), just outside the garden. Unfortunately , there is no possibility to rent windsurfing equipment.

 

As mentioned, Abbadia Lariana is a spot that works almost exclusively with wind from the north, in particular the so-called foehn. The South wind - the "Breva" - that begins to blow from 13/14 onwards, here is very weak, and suitable for beginners. The foehn, an occasional wind, linked to the establishment of a pressure difference between the North and South of the Alps, here can be substantial, partly because the lake, at this point, narrows between steep mountains. When he enters well, it is at least 20 knots, but in the best days may exceed even 40, especially in winter, coming to spray the water. To predict these wind conditions, there are two key websites to visit:  meteocentrale.ch (foehn diagrams) and meteoblue.com (Italy wind map).

Finally, being at the end of the lake (in the direction of descent of the wind from the north), in the spot you have quite a "high" chop, approximately 50-100 cm .

 

 

Aside from the foehn, here, however, early in the morning you also have a thermal north wind blowing (the so-called "Tivano", which originates from the difference in temperature between the water of the lake and the plains to the south). It begins blowing at night and blows until about 9 of clock. Anyway, here, Tivano is much lighter than just few kms further South (Lecco or Valmadrera, see spots Waterwind section), where the lake gets narrower and, because of Venturi effect, Tivano becomes quite stronger and more enjoyable.

In list of articles, with similar tags, at the end of this page, you'll find lots of reports (with video and pictures taken at the spot) of nice sessions in Abbadia with Foehn wind.

Have Fun. Fabio

 

 

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