This summer, FRA is pleased to report on a wonderful encounter with Cristina and Christian Voyer. Christian, we all know from social networks and Facebook in particular, having read his regular posts from Spain. Christian is undoubtedly the "most French" of Spanish raceboarders.
Behind the social networks "hides" a real-life raceboard and drift windsurfing enthusiast, whom he has been warmly sharing with as many people as possible, for 47 years in Cullera, south of Valencia.
Originally from La Rochelle, he started out as a winter sailing and skiing instructor. It was out of curiosity that he answered the call one day, when his club was looking for a "good soul" to take charge of training in a new, then unknown, but apparently up-and-coming sailing sport: windsurfing!
As a result, Christian has lived through the entire history of windsurfing, from its origins to the present day! He should have lived all this adventure on his native land, but Cristina crossed his path one day in La Rochelle. Caught in the turmoil of choosing between love and his native land, he decided to join Cristina and Cullera in Spain... to set up their own sailing school together... with the purchase of his first four boards and a shed right on the beach. The Sea Surf Patrol was born!
At the time, Cullera was a small, almost untamed corner of paradise, surrounded by orange and lemon trees, which later underwent urbanization to become a seaside resort. Although the landscape has changed over the years, nothing has prevented them from training a large number of locals and just as many French people to windsurf in the summer, with no language barrier. A real asset.
The beauty of this spot - a large beach of fine sand and an adjoining mountain at the end of the bay with impressive viewpoints - is matched by the ideal summer weather: light winds in the morning, ideal for learning, and gradually strengthening thermals in the afternoon, up to 15-20 knots, ideal for the most athletic sailors. Christian is also a keen raceboarder, and doesn't hesitate to join in the afternoon training sessions after his morning lessons.
With all these good ingredients, it's 47 years of lasting success, nurtured by Cristina and Christian's conviviality and benevolence in passing on their shared passion to as many people as possible. Christian always keeps an eye on the water with intuition and experience, to catch any "lost sheep". It's impossible for him to leave the spot with the slightest doubt. It's also with emotion that Christian recalls the days of impromptu club regattas on the beach, when everyone brought prizes for festive awards ceremonies. It didn't matter what level you were, the only thing that counted was sharing the moment with everyone! The name given to these regattas is unmistakable: the aperitif regatta. Improvised gatherings of up to forty participants!
Today, things have moved on, with a relocation to permanent premises that enable them to continue sailing driftboards on a daily basis. More specifically, Christian still welcomes around thirty raceboarders who leave their boards on site. You'll find old F2 Lightning and 380, Mistral équipe, Bic bamba... as well as the latest starboard, exocet and unifiber models! Far from being a museum, these boards are sailed every afternoon by local enthusiasts and visiting sailors or those on vacation!
How do you manage to keep so much activity going between generations? You can see all ages on the water, from beginners to experts!
I've always taken everyone's age, ability and motivation into account, mixing the different generations and being careful about when I place them during the day, because the wind picks up from morning to night.
Raceboards are still omnipresent, and we see a lot of them on the racks. It's rather atypical when you look at today's clubs. How do you explain this?
In my opinion, specialist magazines sell the dream rather than the reality! They show off the waves of Cape Verde or Hawaii, for example, and forget that most of us sail on the beaches within our reach. A good part of the population who could be sailing is forgotten by presenting practices in which they don't recognize themselves.
The federations, which are essential and useful to us - I'm not criticizing - are more focused on competition and performance or new practices, but not enough on mass sport for all.
As far as the Raceboard is concerned, it's a board that can be used as a leisure board before the aperitif and the paella, or in a sportier mode in a steady breeze for the most demanding! The disadvantage of having to carry it to the beach outweighs the advantage of carrying it easily on the water. That the Raceboard sometimes passes for an aircraft carrier? the aircraft carrier is the king of the seas!
What memories would you like to share?
I have so many that it's hard for me to answer! But surely all the moments shared in regattas or gatherings with all the people I've met and known; of all nationalities, whether on the water, at the chiringuito or in the restaurants after the regattas! For me, we're all Companions on the same path! And it's from this thought that was born the little video I published a few months ago called "Friends on a same way"!
What would you like to add?
A great desire to get to know people I see on social networks and would like to meet in real life!
Thank you very much, Fred, for your interest and the questions you asked, which I'm happy to answer!
