Leucate-La Franqui : the hottest spot for wind sports

Windparks on the hillside, speedsail and kitesurf aficionados on the beach… Welcome to wind paradise.

Force 4 and over if you’re up to it ! For at least 300 days a year, the Tramontane, or « cers », as it is known here, blows with a vengeance from the West-Northwest, at a speed of up to 45 knots. These constant winds make for a European record, to the delight of windsurfing, kitesurfing, sail carting and kite flying adepts alike. On the banks of the Aude, between lakes, lagoons and the sea, they have found their promised land.

This Mecca is to be found just 25 km south of Narbonne (off the A9 motorway towards Perpignan) and 50 km from the Spanish border, between the pine trees of the oldest wind resort in the area and home town of adventurer Henri de Monfreid, La Franqui, and Port Leucate, an old fishing village which has been transformed into a windsurfing centre.

Every year in April, Leucate-La Franqui is host to « Le Mondial du vent », a wind sports competition organised by Valérie Salles, former world champion of speed sailing. Among the other local participants are Julien Taboulet, the latest funboarding star, and Eric « Casimir » Carrière, who can take to the wind at 60 knots (111 km an hour) ! During the event, two hundred amateurs vie against sixty professionals, to the delight of over 160 000 windswept spectators.

The area well deserves to be called the « hottest » spot for two reasons : the winds are constant and there is a large variety of sites suitable for both beginners (on the lakeside) and experts (by the lake, and, when the wind whips into frenzy, on the sea). Here are three examples : - La Franqui – Coussoules, 6 km of beach ideal for speed slalom, particularly to the left of the spot where the world cup speed run has its finish. - Le Goulet, a good place for beginners, but a bit too crowded for those already proficient.- Les Parcs, on the road to Port-Leucate. Ideal for learners, safe (shallow almost everywhere). Watch out for the oyster beds though, another Leucate speciality !

Wave riders will be the only ones to feel frustrated, as the swell is hardly a local feature. But who needs rollers for the windswept look ? Wind- and kitesurfing can also be practised on the Bages-Sigean lagoon (La Nautique, Port-Mahon, Peyriac-sur-mer), or amongst the pink flamingos in the National Regional Park, but be careful not to get in the way of other users, particularly professional fishermen.

Getting there :• By Train : Gare de Leucate-La Franqui. Shuttle buses in summer, taxis in the off season. Tel. : (0033) (0)4 68 45 70 01• By car : from Narbonne, A 9, exit 40 onto the D627 to Leucate, then the D427 to La Franqui. • By air : Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport. Daily flights from Paris. Tel. : (0033) (0)4 68 52 60 70

Maillard Caroline said :
Je confirme pour Port Leucate, beaucoup de vent!!
Posted il y a 1356 jours