VENTO
Lake Garda is one of the most famous places to windsurf in Italy. Located in the north of the country, its popularity is thanks to the thermic winds that prevail on this mountain lake and blow pretty much year round. There are mainly two windy directions in the lake: the “Peler” is the name of the wind blowing from the north during the morning and the “Ora” is the name of the south wind blowing during the afternoon. There are different spots where you can windsurf, all of them are located in the north of the lake. The Peler starts blowing with the sunrise and you can sail in the west or east side of the lake. The best forecast for the Peler is a sunny day and north wind direction during the morning, sometimes just a few knots from the north are enough for the Peler to kick in. In the west side you have to be ready as soon as the sun rises, in the east side the wind starts blowing as soon as you can see the sun. The lake is located in a valley in the middle of two big mountains, so you will not see the sun until 2-3 hours after sunrise. “Malcesine” is the most popular spot where you can sail during the morning in the west side and “Pra de la fam” is the go-to spot in the east side. The Ora wind starts blowing during lunchtime.
The right forecast for Ora wind is the same as Peler but with a south wind direction. As the Garda lake is a thermal wind spot you should check the difference of pressure between Garda and nearby cities to be sure it will be windy. You can check the pressure at www.meteo-allerta.it, the wind at www.windguru.it and the weather at www.ilmeteo.it. The Ora blows in the whole of the northern part of the lake and you can windsurf pretty much everywhere; the only
problem is where to park. The most popular spots to go during the afternoon are “Pier Hotel”, “Conca” and “Torbole”.
