The last two days melted into one another. More talk about the mysterious and absent Tramontane, more talk about how good we’d all be on the water if only it picked up, more wandering around under the southern France rays and talking to the locals. Ultimately there was no racing. Disappointing.
On Saturday night the carbon Art crew went around to Super Rider Vincent’s crash pad for a slap up meal. We were introduced to some gorgeous local pate, Ricard, the potentially evil French drink and a big Paella for all to share. The locals were amazingly friendly – we stumbled through our French and English, covered all the big topics including making sure that Carbon Art stays true to its roots (it will!!) and the estimated average speed of a nuclear submarine(??!!). The evening moved on with a great sound show from DJ Rinocerous and a surprise visit from Antoine who had just returned from racing. The crowd went wild then danced until the wee hours of the morning. Poor James Dinnis, who went home early, for a quiet night complained that the DJ kept him awake til 4am. Serves him right for not joining.
The last day was all about goodbyes to a bunch of great new friends. People from all over the world who we look forward to seeing next year and may even catch up with at future events. With James D soon heading off to Maui and the Gorge for some R&D there will be loads of chances to cross swords on the water and share stories in the evening. For Carbon Art the Defi was a great chance to meet the small and passionate crew who we’ve been working with and providing gear for over the last few years. As we continue to push into Europe we will do more and more of these types of events and have already booked our place in Gruissan for 2010. In the meantime to all our new friends travel safe – until next year.
Check out the photo gallery, as more images come in we will add them!
