ANDORA WINDSURFING SPOT GUIDE WESTERN ITALY
Andora, or Marina di Andora as it is often called, is a town on the Western Italian Riviera in the region of Liguria, in the province of Savona.
Italian sailor Max Brunetti gives us a guide to windsurfing in the region.
How to get there
Andora is a spot situated near Savona, easily reachable via Motorways, A10 GenovaVentimiglia, A6 Motorway Savona-Torino or A7 Milano-Genova.
Alternatively, you can fly to either Genoa Airport or Nice Airport where you can rent a car and drive alongside Motorway A10 (Autostrada dei Fiori).
The spot
The main winds vary between 225°and 315°.
The first are South West winds, locally called « Libeccio », usually caused by low pressure, typical during winter and spring seasons on our coast. This is a high intensity wind, which usually brings rain and coastal storms. The general conditions can be demanding but also very entertaining, good for wave sailing. Wind
can easily reach 40 kts and over and waves can be quite high but not very powerful due to the sandy sea bottom.
The winds in the last quadrant (315°) are usually thermal winds, caused by high pressure or generated from the low-pressure area moving towards East. This wind can
vary from 15 kts to 25 kts in choppy conditions but with no waves, ideal for slalom training, freestyle and pleasant freeride session on a sunny day.
Useful info
You can find two windsurfing Centres which can be helpful as situated right on the spot. ASD Windsurfing Centre, owned by Roberto, where you can also rent equipment and Windsurf Andora which has storage facilities and safety boats for club members. During the summer, the local authorities strictly impose the use of launch lane usually situated at the far end of the west gulf.
You can check out local weather on : http://www.lamma.rete.toscana.it/meteo/modelli or
www.windguru.cz
Genova Voltri
Voltri is the first windsurfing spot on Liguria western coast. It is situated just a few
kilometres from Genoa city centre, which offers plenty of recreational activities and tourists’ attractions for all your travelling companions. The proximity to the city centre allows visits to the numerous historical buildings such as San Lorenzo Cathedral, and one of Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage sites with the grand palaces and museums of the « Strade nuove » (new streets district). Down in the Old port area (Porto Antico) there are a number of family attractions such as the Aquarium, the Bigo, the Sea Museum and the « Fiera del Mare » where every year the world wide famous « Salone del mare « exhibit attracts many visitors.
How to get There
By car Voltri Is reachable via A10 Genova-Ventimiglia, A6 Savona-Torino and A7 MilanoGenova Motorways at the exit called “Genova Voltri”. To reach the spot just drive towards the town centre and park at the back of Pam supermarket.
The Closest airport is Genoa Cristoforo Colombo in Sestri Ponente, just 10km from Voltri.
“Tramontana Voltri Surf” centre is a private windsurfing and kitesurfing club and the Hotel «Sirenella» are both right on the beach.
The spot
This spot deserves a special note in regards to safety. The navigable zone is limited by an imaginary line that separates it from the entry of the commercial port. It’s very important to stay clear of the vessels entry area for our own safety and in order to avoid heavy fines.
The main winds blow on the northern quadrant, (N ;NW;NE) on side off conditions (so the wind pushes offshore) with flat water.
The best seasons are autumn, winter and spring where temperatures vary from zero to 20° C.
It’s very important to check that the equipment is in order and wear an adequate wetsuit in order to keep the body warm in case we encounter difficulties which could keep us in the water for longer.
The locals of the « Tramontana Voltri Surf » club have recently started to bring a mobile phone in a water tight case to use in case of emergency. I strongly reccomend to surf with a group of friends and avoid late evening sessions.
The average wind speed varies from 15 kts to 25 kts and sometimes conditions can get
tougher. This spot usually attracts freestylers, slalom and freeriders. The most used
equipment: 5.0, 4.7, 4.2 for freestyle. 8.5, 7.1 for slalom and 6.6, 5.5 for freeride.
When low pressure hits our coast it is possibile to get good South East winds that can be quite fun. Locally called « scirocco » it varies from 15 to 18 kts in choppy conditions and if the low pressure persists and intensifies winds can get stronger and reach 30 kts with high waves in a dangerous shore break that hits the sandy beach.
Other info :
Voltri offers good surf sessions sometimes, when swells come from west/south west.
The surf spot is located at the end of the town, towards Arenzano on the main coastal road. The line up is not very big and often quite crowded. Waves break on a rocky botton both right and left side and they are quite fast.
For further info and meteo you can check out :
http://www.lamma.rete.toscana.it/meteo/modelli ( wind at 10 meters HR)
www.windguru.cz
There is also a new webcam skyline :
https://www.skylinewebcams.com/it/webcam/italia/liguria/genova/spiaggiavoltri.html
A special thank you to Nuccy Wind and Rossella Bozzano for the photos.
