Villefranche advice - paddle boarding

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Time Out

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Morning Med based folk.

I will be staying in an apartment in Villefranche next week and want to take my paddle board. I can’t see any immediate danger spots but does anyone have anything to add or tips I should take into account?
 
Plenty of people paddle boarding in Villefranche. It always seems like an awful lot of effort to not go very fast but, hey, one man's meat etc;)
The only thing to watch out for would be a forecast for strong winds with any south in them because the anchorage can get lumpy in these conditions

I believe mcanderson of this parish is also keen on this form of self torture and he keeps his boat round the corner in Beaulieu so he might be able to add something more to this thread
 
Perfect, thanks Mike.

It was a drunk purchase at London Boat Show three years back and I have never used it !

Sadly it will be the only form of water based activity I will be able to do so may as well give it a go !
 
Hello there,

Just back from Beaulieu after a much delayed flight due to French ATC strikes, but hey ho.

Paddling around the bay in Villefranche is very pleasant. It it is your first time then pick a very flat calm day as you might get discouraged spending so much time in the water. You can launch from the beach at the head of the bay, or further around towards Cap Ferrat.

There are some other water based options you might light to consider as it is a spectacular bit of coast and the houses are amazing not to mention the boats! Between Friday and yesterday we had the super yachts Bilbao and Yacht A in the bay of Beaulieu.

You can hire a small boat with a petrol 6hp engine from Dark Pelican in Villefranche. The hq is near where the cruise ships drop their passengers. They have a good website. Alternatively you can hire an electric boat from either seazen or Beaulieu Marine (again both have good websites). For a day all the options above will cost you less the €200.

If you would like any recommendations for restaurants please let me know.

Also you will probably end up in Beaulieu for your shopping as Villefranche only has a very small Casino. The SuperU in Beaulieu is excellent.

When are you down as we will be back there from 24 Jun for a week and we will probably be taking our boat out so there might be an option there.

Enjoy your time in Villefranche.
 
Hi

Many thanks for your reply and recommendations.

I actually know the area quite well, even more so the big yachts ;)

Sailing yacht A has been hanging off Monaco all week looking dark and moody against the very grey sky!

This is just a week hiding and doing nothing with the family although I hope the weather is better as I was down all last week in the rain! I came home Friday as I did not want to deal with the strike !

Also my birthday on the 22nd which I am hoping will be spent crawling inside a magnum of rosé at Paloma Beach !

But very thank full for the paddle boarding tips please do keep them coming and always very happy to have restaurant recommendations as there are always new ones to explore outside the obvious.

Looks like I wil miss you otherwise I would have said hi.
 
Slight fred drift but any views on types of SUP? 100 years ago I was a windsurfing instructor, so can probably cope with the balancing stuff. I was thinking I might get an inflatable one as it'll be easier to put in the trash when I remind myself that I'm a fat old knacker who needs a TUE to get across the bay. :encouragement:
 
We're down in Antibes at present and I have to say that the weather in the SoF this year so far has been pretty poor and quite chilly too. Mistral forecast over the next 3 days again. Looks like I'll be leaving my virtual paddle board in the locker and investigating the innards of a bottle or two myself;)
 
No worries, as you know the area well I will ease off on the recommendations for the area.

Paloma is always great for a long lunch in the sun. For my wife’s birthday we always go to Le Verandah at the Grand Hotel du Cap in St Jean. It is magical.

There is a new beach restaurant in Villefranche which is owned by the same people who do Anjuna Beach in Eze. If they can get the same party vibe then it might be worth a look.

If you make it to Beaulieu then I strongly recommend here http://www.latelierdemile.com owned by the people who own The African Queen, but so different. Very laid back and excellent food. It is our no 1 place in Beaulieu.

Enjoy. The water was 22 degrees and I was swimming fine without a wetsuit and I grew up in the tropics of Australia as a bench mark!
 
I did not know about the new restaurant by the Anjuna guys, that’s good to know as that’s my second birthday lunch sorted !!

Thanks once more and fingers crossed for the weather !

Stupidly hot on the Thames at Teddington as I write this !

Cheers
 
Re: Villefranche advice - paddle boardin

Yeh weather recently patchy in the SoF. We bugged out back to Switzerland last Thur .
Grass / meadow cutting duties , it’s been hot 30 degree and sunny here .
Plan to return to boat end ish of next week , jump in a car and go .

Paddle boards .
As an avid skier and snowboarder for 4/12 M a year I think I can possibly add some tech info .
As a beginner ideally you want the biggest , longest and widest ie grater vol as possible.
Beam benign the most important over L for a given vol .
The narrower it is the more tippy it will be .
Of course this the kit is fixed .- just saying if looking around you are falling in and others seemingly never do - different kit .

Personnel
CoG the lower the better , this favours women and disadvantages blokes , you not said your height or weight or more importantly your waist gurth .Yup carry a gut gents does not help .:)

Well both the above are fixed and not gonna change between now and next week .

Balance
They are very sensitive to your position fwd / aft .
Just a few cm either way total transforms to behaviour.
Something to do with getting the centre of gravity ( that’s your 80-90 Kg guess ) which you can move over the centre of buoyancy.
A few cm wrong and you will in within 20secs .
So look at the decal s on its deck and remember where you place your feet so you can experiment about .
To help stand one foot staggered , not a lot just say 1/2 foot L stagger ,
Just helps better than both feet at the same L point .
Both feet under the hips .

Paddle on your knees initially sat further back or with your knee cap where you are gonna first stand .
Forward momentum like a planing hull increases stability, so before standing get some strokes in .
If you just stand up at zero speed - splash your in as a newby .

Faster you go the more stable it becomes
Adjust the blade to intuitively longer as when it’s in and you push you gain temporarily something to lean on ,helps in waves if you are wobbling .

Muscles
Due to the lateral instability of the thing they wobble side ways like mad when learning , so your calf muscles will knacker within guess ( unless cycle or recent snowboarding ) - as little a 10 mins .

As you get better and balanced you don,t end up twitching them as much and as looking at it the upper body shoulders a s arms along with the core muscles connecting your legs get a work out .
As a beginner it’s your legs that knacker before anything else .
A wobble sets in and there’s not enough in the tank leg muscle wise to prevent the inevitable.

Use the ankle cord and keep hold of the paddle when you go in .

Waves
Ideally as Shane has said flat calm , but get what you are given .
Beam on rollers are killers , headseas not too bad as you can see them coming and slightly flex the knees to absorb them .Tecnically what you are really doing bending the knees and leaning Fwds is as I said trying to keep the CoG over the CoB —- deviate those and life stood up on aSUP will be short .
Following seas too you can feel the stern lift and see the wave L of the ones that have gone past , to kinda know when the next lift from behind is coming .

A bit like sking and slope gradient as the waves get bigger SUP gets harder .
So think beginner slopes or calm place as a newby

Here’s a pic of mine , it’s not beamy so a bit of a handful

https://imgur.com/a/VLccwhD
 
I used to teach windsurfing many moons ago a and it certainly helps with balance on a SUP. We bought a cheap inflatable one about 3 years ago and took it back to the retailer within 2 days as it was carp. Couldn't inflate it to high enough pressure without the deck starting to separate. They gave us a full refund after a bit of 'discussion'. We then bought a non cheap inflatable one from Red Paddle Co. It's been fantastic, good exercise and fun to use. My favourite is an early morning paddle around the creeks of Salcombe. As Porto says balance and position is key, but also make sure you inflate it as hard as it will go, particularly if you are heavy !. Thoroughly recommend the Red Paddle ones. Easy to inflate (buy an electric pump that will do 15psi or more), easy to transport with the supplied Wheely bag and good fun for adults and kids.
 
Been twice so far and about to go today for lunch.

Bout the best beach restaurant here.

They are also happy to have the paddle board there !

Also had a mad Sunday lunch at Anjuna for 12 plus kids. Bizarrely the DJ, endless magnums ( of the pink variety) and very loud music did not put off the kids !
 
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Watch out at Paloma today! I imagine that this will be the beach area and not the restaurant as the same has happened at Mala recently.

La Paloma beach - Employees of the Prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes have dismantled much of La Paloma beach restaurant at Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, according to local reports. The establishment has been an iconic landmark since it was built in 1949 but is now occupying public land without authorization according to the authorities. The operation carried out on Thursday follows similar action a month ago against restaurants at Plage Mala in Cap d’Ail.
 
Ahh yes a very helpful forum member pointed this out this morning ! Typical !!

So it’s back to Anjuna for a birthday lunch with said forum member.

I am hoping he will be able to ‘illuminate’ the birthday cake ....
 
Time Out said:
Ahh yes a very helpful forum member pointed this out this morning ! Typical !!

So it’s back to Anjuna for a birthday lunch with said forum member.

I am hoping he will be able to ‘illuminate’ the birthday cake ....
Click to expand...

Tee-hee, will he be illuminating it from underneath? If it is who I think it is, you'll be needing some extra Rosé... :D:D Tell E that I said hello :encouragement:
 
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