Anyone heading over this yr. Taking kit or hire, tent or appartment?

Bought kit over there, will leave it in storage to use on multiple trips. Will have 2 Patrik Defi LTD boards, a JP Speed 45 and 4 NP EVOs from 4.9 to 6.5 in size. Renting one of the beach chalets for the event. Pop by and have a beer when you come over, look for the big Roo on the NP EVO race sails!

Yep, booked to go and taking gear.

At this stage, taking an iSonic 63 and three sails (5.5, 6.2 and 7.0m).

Thinking about going are we Dave?

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AUS02 said..
Yep, booked to go and taking gear.

At this stage, taking an iSonic 63 and three sails (5.5, 6.2 and 7.0m).

Let us know when you get there Dave, I get in on May 21 and have a week of training before the event. I'll be based out of L'oc Surf on the beach at Gruissan, Davy will know where to find me. Will also be heading up the coast to La Palme if it looks good for speed, taking a JP45 Speed over with me.

Sounds great, will be in touch. There'll be at least three of us heading over from AUS. Really looking forward to it.

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AUS02 said..
Sounds great, will be in touch. There'll be at least three of us heading over from AUS. Really looking forward to it.

The more the merrier, will be great to put names to faces. The Kangaroo Stable rides again! v8vantage.com/Kangaroo.htm

Aw crap. Now I gotta look into it further. I'm in Vietnam before so will look at going from there!? If , only if I can change flights and find accom and kit. Obvi I can't take my kit. Last resort would be LT, big LOL!!

I am registered!! Will be renting gear from Surfcenter.NL.I am yet to sort accommodation, any guidence here in the coming weeks would be appreciated. A camper at this stage is looking good as the other half and i will be touring after.
Roo and Dave I will be in touch!
In the meantime I will be toughening up my fin fitness here in Baja

Look forward to catching up! Cookie and I are going from TAS and have booked an apartment in Gruissan. We'll leave a van down at the beach and have a smaller hire car to get around and/or be dropped off by our wives each day.

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AUS02 said..
Look forward to catching up! Cookie and I are going from TAS and have booked an apartment in Gruissan. We'll leave a van down at the beach and have a smaller hire car to get around and/or be dropped off by our wives each day.

My wife and I have booked an apartment down by the marina in Gruissan as well. Have a small favor to ask David, could you bring over some of the jumbo size Cherry Ripe bars, happy to pay for them! We get in May 21 for 2 weeks.

Yes, can do.

Do you have to enter and compete to go ? Or can I just come down , soak up the atmosphere and sail when I feel like it ??. watched the Ben profit coverage last year and it looks great , also drive from the uk is easy for me !

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AUS02 said..
Yes, can do.

Appreciate it Dave, look forward to meeting in Gruissan. What gear are you bringing?

Planning to take an iSonic 63 with 5.5, 6.2 and 7.0m race sails. If the forecast is for plenty of wind, then I may drop the 7.0 and take a smaller sail (5.1 Overdrive or 4.8 Moto). Also ordered two Defi Wind Chopper fins (32 and 34cm).

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AUS02 said..
Planning to take an iSonic 63 with 5.5, 6.2 and 7.0m race sails. If the forecast is for plenty of wind, then I may drop the 7.0 and take a smaller sail (5.1 Overdrive or 4.8 Moto). Also ordered two Defi Wind Chopper fins (32 and 34cm).

I'll have the Patrik Defi Limited 55 and 59 boards. Taking over a JP 45 Speed so if you fancy some fast times up at La Palme I'm sure we can swap speed runs for Cherry Ripes! Hadn't heard of the Chopper defi fins, can you send me a link?

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Roo said..

AUS02 said..
Planning to take an iSonic 63 with 5.5, 6.2 and 7.0m race sails. If the forecast is for plenty of wind, then I may drop the 7.0 and take a smaller sail (5.1 Overdrive or 4.8 Moto). Also ordered two Defi Wind Chopper fins (32 and 34cm).

I'll have the Patrik Defi Limited 55 and 59 boards. Taking over a JP 45 Speed so if you fancy some fast times up at La Palme I'm sure we can swap speed runs for Cherry Ripes! Hadn't heard of the Chopper defi fins, can you send me a link?

Jeez! Seeing Dave on a JP! That would be like going to the dark side well and truly Good luck all sounds like a great event to go to! Would be an insane experience

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Surfing Uk said..
Do you have to enter and compete to go ? Or can I just come down , soak up the atmosphere and sail when I feel like it ??. watched the Ben profit coverage last year and it looks great , also drive from the uk is easy for me !

No need to enter, there's a whole village of new windsurfing gear on display from the manufacturers. Lots of room to sail when the race isn't on.

Thanks Roo, look forward to catching up: www.finsfactory.fr/index.php/produit/slalom-dw-chopper/?lang=en

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AUS02 said..
Thanks Roo, look forward to catching up: www.finsfactory.fr/index.php/produit/slalom-dw-chopper/?lang=en

Thanks Dave, will check into them. I see you are doing the Surfcenter Experience and have Twan as your coach. I ended up with Antoine!

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Mr Keen said..
I am registered!! Will be renting gear from Surfcenter.NL.I am yet to sort accommodation, any guidence here in the coming weeks would be appreciated. A camper at this stage is looking good as the other half and i will be touring after.
Roo and Dave I will be in touch!
In the meantime I will be toughening up my fin fitness here in Baja

I'm looking to do the event for 2026, have booked the Surf Center Experience, and am also looking to rent gear over there rather than lug my kit all over Europe. How was your experience renting from Surf center, was it high end slalom boards and sails and at what cost? It's still almost a year away and I'm buzzing, the Mrs wishes Id stop talking about it already

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PaulNZ said..

Mr Keen said..
I am registered!! Will be renting gear from Surfcenter.NL.I am yet to sort accommodation, any guidence here in the coming weeks would be appreciated. A camper at this stage is looking good as the other half and i will be touring after.
Roo and Dave I will be in touch!
In the meantime I will be toughening up my fin fitness here in Baja

I'm looking to do the event for 2026, have booked the Surf Center Experience, and am also looking to rent gear over there rather than lug my kit all over Europe. How was your experience renting from Surf center, was it high end slalom boards and sails and at what cost? It's still almost a year away and I'm buzzing, the Mrs wishes Id stop talking about it already

Surfcenter rental gear is top shelf!! Rented 2024 Isonic, M6 6.5/5.5 with 2 brand new masts, new carbon boom with adjustable outhaul and adjustable harness lines, new 30cm and 32cm Finish first carbon fins, extension and base for 750 euro. For a week. Great value condsidering you don't have to lug it half way around the World!
See you at the Defi next year
Edit; let Wifey know there is plenty of wine, food and sight seeing if the wind is not on....and add another week at either end of trip. Well worth it

Yeah, agree with Jason, Surfcenter couldn't have done it any better, supplying the latest gear and providing fantastic service. I rented a brand new iSonic 63, with two new masts and booms and two slightly used MACH7 sails (5.5 and 6.5), plus ext, base and carbon 32cm Finish race fin. A mate (Cookie) hired pretty much the same gear and, as the wind forecast was a little light, they swapped his 5.5 for a 7.5 (no questions asked). The atmosphere was fantastic and we're both planning to book again for 2026!! Our partners also loved it, hence our being able to go again, with a European holiday tacked on at the end!

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Mr Keen said..

Surfcenter rental gear is top shelf!! Rented 2024 Isonic, M6 6.5/5.5 with 2 brand new masts, new carbon boom with adjustable outhaul and adjustable harness lines, new 30cm and 32cm Finish first carbon fins, extension and base for 750 euro. For a week. Great value condsidering you don't have to lug it half way around the World!
See you at the Defi next year

750 Euro for a week might sound a lot, but that kit wont be worth much on the secondhand market when they come to sell it, whenever that is. Its not the sort of kit the general public would rent elsewhere either. At a guess, RRP would be over 10,000 Euro, although they would get it at cost, or less. I guess they have been shrewd in sourcing the kit a good price, otherwise it would take them quite a few Defi's to break even.

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PaulNZ said..

I'm looking to do the event for 2026, have booked the Surf Center Experience, and am also looking to rent gear over there rather than lug my kit all over Europe. How was your experience renting from Surf center, was it high end slalom boards and sails and at what cost? It's still almost a year away and I'm buzzing, the Mrs wishes Id stop talking about it already

Paul the event is a blast, never seen so many windsurfers together and so happy in one place! Didn't matter the wind didn't blow, we got a week of it before the event. It's 2 weeks earlier next year so should be cooler and windier. Never have so many go so far, so fast and so easily! The first time you do the beam reach down to Port Nouvelle is unreal, like being a kid and asking dad if we're there yet, are we there yet. The accommodation in the town of Gruissan is a bit more civilized than the chalets at the beach, less noise and not as dusty. Make sure you are a competent upwind sailor, the wind is offshore and it gets bumpier the further out you go. Getting out around the breakwater puts you out away from the beach, you need to head upwind for quite a distance to get back in. On days when the wind is more to the east it can be tricky. You can also swim your gear across the canal and rig on the beach in the corner on the left of the picture below. Pretty sandy so make sure you put tape over the mast join otherwise you'll end up with a one piece mast! They have a contest during the event to see if they can separate the pieces.

Cheers, Roo

Thanks for all your replies. Good to hear the gear from Surf Center is top drawer, will definitely go that way. 750 Euro for a week sounds well worth it, given it's a bucket list trip. The thought of up to four flights each way from Wellington, and hoping my kit makes every flight AND undamaged fills me with anxiety already. So much to organize, but it's going to be amazing. Wifey has talked my daughter into coming too, so they can happily go off and do their own thing.

Looking forward to a summary story! It didn't blow by the look of it, ? any sailing before race day ?

How was the BYO gear experience Dave , can't imagine that would have been easy ,
the gear rental or even VIP/Gear experience sounds good .

given that it's now a couple of years in a row if I'm correct of it being wind skunked , stats would suggest 2026 will be windy !?

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Hi Jonesy, I ended up renting gear which was much easier - a brand new iSonic 63, with two new masts and booms and two slightly used MACH7 sails (5.5 and 6.5), plus ext, base and carbon 32cm Finish race fin.

No wind for the event itself, but I had four good days of sailing leading up to it, plus the practice race, so made the trip more than worthwhile. The vibe there was fantastic. I've uploaded five videos showing the sailing over those four days, including the practice race. Easiest to search for 'Defi' via my channel (search AUS-02):

Great videos Dave ,how did Roo like his cherry ripes ....

Loved them!