Goon to Gruissan - Defi Wind 2023

This post has turned into a bit of a travel blog, if you're short on time, scroll to the "Race Format" heading.

Once upon a time, (before internet cookies and Instagram) I stumbled across a youtube video of the start line of DefiWind Gruissan. For a kid growing up on lagoon bay with four or five other sailors on a good day, the concept of racing 1000+ sailors was an immediate bucket list item.This year I am fortunate enough to be living in the UK, which finally put my boyhood dream within reach.

Signing Up

Registration is pretty straight forward, all done online (with the aid of google translate). The only real sticking point is a doctor's certificate stating that you're fit to race, this is mandatory for all competitions in France..even ParkRun (which has been indefinitely postponed nationwide as a result of this red-tape).

Getting There

Unable to get away from work for Day 1 and 2 (Thursday and Friday), I booked a late Friday flight out of London-Gatwick to Toulouse (Carcassonne, Montpellier, Girona and Barcelona are all also within reach). We flew with EasyJet, who are surprisingly windsurfer friendly (?40 each way for 32kg). We hired a camper through GoBoony (AirBnB for Campers) which got us to Gruissan and provided a comfy place to sleep just 100m from the beach and bar.

Arrival And Orientation

We arrived at Gruissan around 1am on Day 3. Apart from 5 or 6 rigs pegged to the sand, the beach was empty, the wind was dying off and the party tent was thriving. The forecast for the next day looked bleak..I had a bad feeling. Things seemed to get worse when I opened the official Facebook page to see a post from Day 2 Captioned "GrandChelem is close!" which google translated to "Grand Slam is Closed!". Fearing the worst I had a beer and went to bed a little sad.The next day I got up early, anxious to find someone (anyone!?) who both spoke English and knew if racing was on. "parlez vous francais?".Without a straight answer I went and collected my race pack, mainly because I still wanted my "free" t-shirt. I sat alone on the empty beach and rigged my gear..racing or not, I didn't come all this way to not hit the water.At 9am the village started to awaken.maybe there was hope. Half an hour later the main stage speakers were wound up to maximum volume and 1000 sailors emerged from their various hideouts ready for morning brief. The brief was long winded but the outcome was good, the race was on and the 60 minute countdown to start began. My fear of missing out quickly turned into terror as I realised I now had to actually race.

Decisions Decisions (Gear Selection)

Based on Thursday's forecast for the weekend I left my 100L board at home and packed my Carbon Art 119. and my only two sails (6.2 KA Race, 9.5 Ezzy Cheetah) both securely packing taped to the outside my board bag for the flight to Toulouse. Now I (100kg) sat on the beach with 45 minutes before race start looking at a 6.2m and a 9.5m sail, wondering why on earth I didn't own a 7.5. The start line was reading 18-20kts, mid course 16-18kts and the far mark 23-25kts. Having just come out of a UK winter I had less than 1 hour time on water in the last six months...a factor that weighed heavily on my mind.With no desire to sail 40km off the plane there was only one thing I could do...I pulled on the downhaul as hard as I possibly could, grit my teeth and launched with 9.5m (on a day most people were sailing 6.2-7.8m).

Race Format

The course for the day was the standard Defi model, a start line and a jibe mark 10km away. It's a reach both ways, parallel the to shoreline in an offshore breeze. Everyone does 2 out and back laps for 40km total.But it's the start that draws the crowd...as the timer hits zero a Jet RIB starts at the downwind end of the start line and hammers toward the upwind marker. So long as you pass behind that boat, you're on your way.

The Rabbit Start

With 25 minutes to spare before race start I did what I could to test and tune my rig without wearing myself out.With ten minutes to run I made my way to the start line, jibed and slowly sailed away from the course. With five minutes to run I popped onto the plane ready to jibe back for the start, .and that is when I saw it...almost instantly a WALL of sails had materialised, coming toward me and those others stranded between them and the start line like Braveheart and his army. I jibed as quickly as I could but the wall enveloped me before I could get back on the plane, I found myself in a hydrodynamic and aerodynamic washing machine created by the wake of 500+ sails. A curse word or two, and few pumps later I was back on the plane 100m behind the peloton. Not exactly where I wanted to be but I was in a perfect position to watch the rabbit roar across the front of the fleet as the race began.Almost as soon as the race began it ended for the two guys in front of me as they spectacularly crossed swords (and masts, and boards). I ducked downwind to avoid the tangle I counted two healthy looking sailors berating each other before continuing on my way...I had survived my first rabbit start.

Racing..perhaps "Follow the pack, don't hit anyone" would be more accurate

As the pack spread out the wind shadow decreased and the smaller rigs gained an advantage on me and my comically large sail. They started to overtake, literally in their dozens. I also came to understand how far downwind I had placed myself on the start line...even with 8km to run on the first leg I found myself holding my uphaul in my front hand in an attempt to gain some ground.By mid-leg I'd made my way upwind far enough to relax, the wind had eased and my 9.5 was starting to pay dividends as I watched the speedsters fall off the plane, some even made the call to turn back early.Before I could even identify how far away the jibing mark was, the front runners started to whip past in the opposite direction at 60+knots closure. The terrifyingly quick foilers led, followed soon after by the Pro's still loyal to the fin.After 15 minutes of trying not to use my "starboard" privileges against professionals and wondering how I got my harness line setup so very wrong, the first mark appeared and the jostling began again. With countless sails already in the water near the mark I pushed wide, losing 20-30 places in the process but open water and a clean jibe saw me gain those places back two fold.Legs 2,3 and 4 were much more enjoyable, closer to shore, flat water and more of a pure reach in both directions. The only dangers left were sandbars, oncoming traffic and fatigue.

The Finish

My massive sail and conservative mark rounding tactics left me with sore arms, dry hair and an incident free race with an official time of 54:36, scraping into the front half of the pack as 480th over the line out of 1018 finishers.The real challenge of the day begins after you cross the line. The wind in the launching area is much lighter than the course, very offshore and water space is at a premium. Even once you eventually reach the shoreline you'll still likely have to navigate your way through three layers of sails to before your weary arms find a clear space to set down your kit.

Race 5?

The wind was forecast to ease throughout the afternoon but the race directors weren't willing to abandon the day right away. Briefings were held every hour in hope of a weather shift good enough to support a second run. They take the mass sail induced windshadow into account when making the decision to start and 18kts at the start line seemed to be a very firm line in the sand. Ultimately the wind swung cross-shore around 5pm, sending everyone and their aching muscles (back) to the bar for the evening.Day Four started with rain, and while the kid inside me wanted to race again, the old man headache I'd developed after a night the Defi Party thought otherwise. At 10am the race directors made the call, Defi 2023 was over. A round of applause rung out across the village and soon after that, the world's largest VW Transporter convoy departed the carpark and spread back out across Europe.

Good job, I'll bring Gemini over next time ?? ( I want one of those shirts).

Wow Ben! That's a bucket list item crossed off!
Fair to say you're living the dream for MANY of us, in many ways!
Well done on a superb write up too, thanks for taking the time, certainly worthy of a magazine spread!