6 days in La Torche
The time runs quick! 6 days are over at the La Torche PWA Worldcup. During the first 6 days we saw a lot of swell breaking at the beach of Pors Carn next to the Pointe de la Torche. It’s my first time spending time in Brittany and it’s definitely worth to visit this place. Renting a little stone house around 12 km from the event site was definitely the right decision. It’s located in the middle of the green country side. No traffic, just a main building, a horse breeding and a nice green cultivated garden next to the little stone house. So relaxed. We bought fresh fish at a local market in Loctudy, one of our favourite places in that area. The taste was delicious…and when our trip came to an end we decided to extend our stay by one more day!
Chilling in front of the little house we rent.
On the fourth day strong northwesterly wind kicked in the left bay and we followed the most radical wave competition of the 2014 season. The starboard tack conditions were challenging and the wind picked up over 30 knots. We saw crazy jumps in mast high waves. Wild double loops, massive Backloops and Pushloops and excellent wave riding. All top riders hit the lips quite vertical. The action happened quite close to the beach. Thousands of spectators stood on the rocks or on the beach next to the water watching their windsurfing heroes. Ricardo Campello won the single elimination. Congrats! Next time we will bring wave equipment. La Torche is definitely a great spot for wave sailing and surfing.
Having a coffee in the local creperie at La Torche in front of an old A.R.T. sail of Monty Spindler (Pic: Kerstin Reiger)
I am not really sure how often the spot works for Slalom. It would have been possible to run Slalom eliminations two days ago, but it was definitely smart to give the wave discipline priority. Probably a lot of racing gear would have been destroyed by the huge white water walls. And the strong current would have dragged the marks away from their origin spots.
Rigging in the green next to Ross Williams with a view to the event site and on the dunes (Pic: Kerstin Reiger)
At the moment the wind is far too light from being suitable for any Slalom racing. The two biggest sail sizes, 8,6m and 9,0m are rigged and ready just next to the beach. I will race in heat 6 in the first elimination. Three days are left to start the Slalom competition. Looks like we are racing on the right hand side of the bay, if we will race. For the wavers the forecast doesn’t look so promising. They would need to sail 10 or 11 more heats to complete the double elimination.
Rigging for the first and only time at La Torche, but the wind never arrived (Pic: Kerstin Reiger).