Iles de la Madelaine, Chapter 3

Kiting Day 7 – Day 11

Tuesday: Gusty 25-35 kts out of the West. Big clean head high plus waves at Plage de l’Hopital Fatima. Not many kites out there today but a few dozen sailboarders were shredding with 4m-4.7m sails.
Dany and a few others ripping on 9m & 7m kites when I arrived, I flew the 7m Hypertype and did multiple sessions on the ZONE and 28 Rip, plenty powered up. It was nice to ride another new spot and to see another area of the islands. The wind was a lot cleaner further offshore and away from the lee of the point. My best day of riding here yet – possibly one of my best wave riding days ever, except the session was cut short by a slow leak in my leading edge (I unintentionally set the kite down on some dune grass – doh! )

Wednesday: I finally get to ride Corfu! If yesterday was possibly the best day of wave riding ever for me, today was a close match and possibly the most spectacular day of riding visually, for variety, and for the challenging conditions.

I arrived at Corfu early afternoon and quickly discovered that I had left my bar at Fatima the day before. I asked a few of the local windsurfers if they noticed it and they said they left it there, so I raced over to look for it – and it was not there. Bummer. When I got back I mentioned that I did not find the bar and then a local “Jhyclin” said he had it in his VW bus…awesome…I almost kissed him for it!

Jaz and Oliver showed up around the same time and was on the water quickly, “let’s go around Ile aux Goelands” says Jaz, so I said I’ll follow him out. It was blowing 25-35 kts NW and gusty near shore. Oliver was getting blown off the water with his 7m Nemesis. I got out past the leeward side of the island and realized I was way too lit on the 7m Waroo at middle knot setting so I had to head back to shore to adjust. Jaz had already worked his way past the island and over toward Cap a Savage. So I had some catching up to do. I finally got past the island, the Cap and the shipwreck and we rode in and out of the harbor (Anse de l’Etang du Nord) for a little while and then headed back out into the waves – big waves. It was incredible riding upwind of the red cliffs and the rusted hulk of the shipwreck, and the waves and currents in there were awesome – but you had to pay attention in there – if something went wrong there you are pretty much “toast” – not many escape options available, if any.

Then we headed for the slot between the Goelands and Savage…that’s where it was really incredible. The waves were 3m-4m super clean and the troughs were easily 30 meters apart – and the wind was probably the cleanest in there than anywhere. The wind seems to funnel between the cliffs and the “rock” nicely on this NW direction. Toward the south side of the “rock” the waves wrapped around 90 degrees to the waves in the slot and it was perfect for boosting and smacking. Jaz busted another huge air/unhooked kiteloop and snapped his leash so I chased down the kite but could not hold it in the 30 kt gusts and waves, so I went back and towed Jaz on his board behind me, both of us fully planning straight downwind, until we reached his kite…so it was an interesting and exciting day of riding.

I definitively would not have gone around Goelands unless Jaz was there to lead me, so a big cheers to him for that! I should mention how impressed I am after watching Jaz on his new Yargas. He has usually been riding 9m when I am on 7m kites. And he throws down big and hard. Biggest airs I’ve ever seen and super powerful riding style, awesome to watch and ride with him.

FYI – the wind in the lee of the “Ile aux Goelands” is absolutely freaky, I advise that you stay well downwind of it. Jhyclin went back out with a leaky LE on his Raven and the kite inverted and the 5th line hogtied the kite. We were worried about him because he was pretty far offshore. He finally decided to jettison his kite 3 km from shore and then got towed to the beach by a cold and exhausted (Aussie) Richard… Jhyclin’s kite was later retrieved 5 km down the beach by a search party headed up by Serge in his burly grey Hummer blasting down the beach at 90 km/h.

I definitely notice that there are more windsurfers riding the spots I like to ride, and after the past week I have gotten to know many of them…and it’s a good scene hangin with them. It seems there are only a few cross-over kiters/sailborders and the sailboarders seem very dedicated to their sport. This is an awesome place for it.

Thursday: Early winds for some light wind riding in the Lagoon during.

Friday: We had hoped to ride Sandy Hook this morning but the wind was only about 15 kts and not adequate power for the 2m waves and current. While hanging out at Plage de Grave I encountered 3 red fox (Renaults) and they seemed quite docile as I took photos from less than 5m away. I imagine that people are feeding them and that they are now comfortable approaching humans for handouts.

So we ended up going to the lagoon, which produced solid 15-25 kt winds until late afternoon – the thermally generated wind machine that typically boosts the winds at the edges of the island by 5 – 10 kts. I was super lit on the 12m Hypertype and changed down to the 10m Royal, which was perfect. It was a busy day and some decent riding, but it was still a bit unexciting riding in the chop after the sweet session we had on Wednesday at Corfu.

Looking at the forecast and considering other logistics I decided to ride Saturday and finally to leave on the Sunday ferry back to Souris, not looking forward to leaving this wonderful place nor eager to begin the long road trip back to Muskegon – over 2500 km.

Saturday: I picked up some fresh croissants and made my breakfast at the at Plage de Bassin hoping to ride there and to Sandy Hook. However the wind was only around 15 kts again, so I decided to go back to the lagoon where it was blowing solid 7m conditions. It’s incredible how the wind can be so strong there and not at the beach! It was a great way to spend my last day, riding and chillin with many of the people I have met here, a bittersweet feeling knowing that I would leave in the morning. It was a nice warm sunny day, and I rode until 6 PM fully lit with the 7m and 28 Rip - it was a fun day and a nice ending to a fantastic trip here.

Synopsis: Kite sizes used: 7m (7 days), 10m (3 days) , 12m (3 days), 15m (2 days)

# of Days on the les Iles de Madelaine: 12 # of Days of riding: 11

Les Iles de Madelaine – Epilogue

The Tourism Department here puts out a great guide with nice maps and other information, available on the ferry or at the visitors center. Also, there is a nice “Carte des Sites” specifically designed for wind sports showing access points, ideal wind directions, etc.

When I first arrived here I wondered if the inhabitants felt isolated or that they had a limited existence here. After spending twelve days here my perspective on this place is very different than upon arrival. There is so much to do – the diversity of culture, the landscape, and the stunning beauty of this place has grown on me and I could see myself living here very easily. I spent one early morning looking at the delicate flora and many varieties of mushrooms that seemed to be popping up around my campsite – I wish I knew which, if any, were edible – or magic. It is also very very clean here and you hardly ever see even the tiniest bit of litter anywhere. The water seems super clean as well, in some places very clear and in others turbid from the wave action battering the beaches and cliffs. The smell of the air here is also special – the scent of pine forests, salt air, fields of grass all mixed together.

The people who live here seem to be proud of the nature here and have a strong connection with the environment and ecology of the islands. Everyone has been so friendly and it feels so relaxed. This is really a unique chain of island forms all linked together by narrow strips of sand. The red and gray sandstone cliffs are constantly eroding and falling into the sea, and it makes me wonder if eventually it will all be swept away?

Many of the houses here are painted with pleasant color schemes and they stud the green landscape like little jewels. House rentals are fairly inexpensive and would definitely be the way to go with a group of people. I believe you can rent a 2 bedroom house for around $600/week.

Camping has been great, and there are many nice campgrounds sprinkled around the archipelago, decent prices, some with internet service. It’s interesting to realize how little resources you can use when camping. Also I realized today that I have been operating without a cel phone for at least the last 17 days…nice! I have been using Skype occasionally to make a few calls. I suppose it would be nice to be able to call some of the locals to find out where the “kite spot du jour” is, but we often seem to end up in the same spot. There are usually 2-3 good riding spots in every wind direction within 15-20 minutes driving, unless you drive way up to Echouerie to ride an East wind, which apparently can be epic with real ground swell waves.