Long distance kitesurfing downwind outing - 137km in the south of France

In October 2022, I managed to realise a major plan and a dream that I had for more that a year: a long downwind kitesurfing ride along the French west Mediterranean coast! 🤩😎 Of course, surfing on the long wooden Tiki board that I made myself.
In short: 75 nautical miles / 137 km 🏄 in 8 hours, solo and fully autonomous 💪
Starting at 9am on Plage Napoléon on the very east of the Camargue region, there was a nice 5B wind and relatively flat sea. The first challenge was to cross the mouth of the Rhone - the biggest European river discharging into the Med. I just followed local expert's advice to enter inside, cross at the most narrow point, and not lose the board in the strong current. Easy, right? Anyway, it went very smooth. Then, the fun started: tens of kilometers of completely uninhabited, remote coastline of the Camargue region. Long empty sandy beaches, a few lighthouses, the magnificent Beauduc bay in the middle, just one town and port to pass (St.Maries-de-la-Mer), and again miles of wild coastline with absolutely no-one in sight. I drank water from a camelbag while riding - but only enjoyed a 5 minute snack break after 2h30 (48 km), and a bit longer sandwich break after 4h30 (90 km) from the start. After rounding the Espiguette peninsula, I finally reached civilisation - the bay of Aigues Mortes, with several towns around (and their smell!): Port Camargue, Le Grau-du-Roi and La Grande-Motte. Dozens of sailing boats and hundreds of kitesurfers and wingfoilers - what a change after the remoteness of Camargue. Going further west, the coast turns a bit to the south, again long beaches with occasional seaside resorts like Carnon and Palavas-les-Flots. During the day, the waves grew significantly bigger 🌊, as did the fatigue - my attention became weaker, and reflexes slower. I once lost a board (riding strapless, I just stand on it, it's not attached to me anyhow), and I really had hard time getting it back. A bit later, I allowed the kite to go too low, it got into shore break waves which dragged it (and me) onto the beach. It took a while to untwist the kite, untangle the kite lines, and get back on the water. At this point, it was already 5pm, too late to pass the big commercial port of Sète - so I stopped at Frontignan-Plage, just in front of Sète. I was well tired after more than 8 hours on the water...
However, that was not the end of the adventure! With no support team and no one following me by car to pick me up, I needed to be autonomous. I carried a waterproof backpack with normal clothes to change to, and bags for the kite and equipment. A fellow kitesurfer met on the beach gave me a lift to the Frontignan train station (thanks so much Philippe!). I took one train 🚃 to Avignon (yes, with all the gear, including the board!), then a TGV 🚅 to Arles, and finally a taxi to Plage Napoléon where I left my car. I finally got there after 11pm - the whole outing took 14 hours. I was so exhausted and tired, that when I went to bed (well, a mattress in the car), I instantly fell asleep 🥱😴
Safety was crucial. Onshore wind is a must for such outings, to push me back to the coast, rather than away to the open sea. The forecasts promised stable SE 19-23 knots wind starting in the morning (so initially, no waves) over the whole planned area. Eventually, the wind direction was rather ESE, so more downwind - that's why the track includes many gybes. I did quite some research about the coast I planned to ride along - I knew by heart the coastline features, distances, possible dangers, etc. I also had a lot of safety and communication equipment with me: a helmet and a warm wetsuit (too warm!), a fluorescent lycra, a VHF radio, an electronic distress flare, a smartphone relaying my live position to family and friends, rope knives, a spare leash, and lots of other items. Finally, I kept quite close to the shore at most times, and especially at the two peninsulas when I actually had off-shore wind for a bit.
Kitesurfing is not a very physical sport, but this was a really long session. I did some physical preparations in the weeks before: basically, mountain biking 🚵‍♀️ at lunch time (and some ice skating, too). Still, I felt my muscles a few days after... I guess that's how people feel after running a marathon or completing a triathlon.
Overall, it was an amazing experience - a great kitesurfing adventure in a very beautiful setting. A dream! 😍

[@guiom02]

Top cool !! 👏👍

[@parajerome]

Great achievement!

[@surfbum8166]

Crazy board

[@alexkingbless4406]

Wow nice

[@rupertpeers8938]

Thank you for capturing this epic journey! Would you ever do it again?

[@sebastianlopienski]

Oh yes, I certainly plan do again some of it, or perhaps the same itinerary, or - the ultimate goal - to start where I started last year, but continue even further!

[@jonasbehr7521]

Thank you for sharing, I love it. Really inspiring.

[@sebastianlopienski]

Thanks!

[@gastonbarouille767]

That was a very long trip! Congratulations! What was your safety equipment?

[@naszebebe]

Merci! Please have a look at the description of this video: "I also had a lot of safety and communication equipment with me: a helmet and a warm wetsuit (too warm!), a fluorescent lycra, a VHF radio, an electronic distress flare, a smartphone relaying my live position to family and friends, rope knives, a spare leash, and lots of other items."