It’s been far too many years since we both last visited Sardinia. We know the north well. This time we are focussing on the south. From Cagliari airport, it’s an hour’s 80 km drive by hire car to the small island of Sant’Antioco in the south-west. Our accommodation is located right at the highest point of the beautiful old town next to the basilica. Flamingos dine in the surrounding lagoons at sunset.
Even after Easter, Sardinia is anything but awake. Everything is empty, stress-free and cosy. 25 to 30° is much more pleasant than the constant 13° of rain I experienced on my last visit at the same time of year. You can still kite on almost every beach that is closed from June at the latest and wild camping is still a mass sport.
You can drive round the island of Sant’Antioco in just one hour. Numerous heavily laden cyclists take much longer. Only dirt tracks lead to the far south. The remote beach of Coaquaddus offers good waves on a width of just 200 metres in an easterly wind like today. Unfortunately, the wind is not enough for me.
Today, the old town centre of Sant’Antioco is preparing for a five-day festival. First Labour Day, then Sardinian National Day and finally three days of the 666th edition of the Sant’Antioco Martire. From the second day onwards, we can only get to our accommodation by reversing through a one-way street. The entire old town centre is cordoned off.
The next day we drive to a good easterly wind spot in Chia. Speeders and rules still play chicken and egg in Sardinia. The wider the road, the lower the speed limit. Good country roads are limited to 50 km/h for dozens of kilometres. Nobody really sticks to it. On narrow, winding mountain roads, on the other hand, you are allowed to drive at an unattainable 90 km/h.
The marvellous beach of Su Giudeu is a top kitesurfing spot in the low season with strong easterly and southerly winds. Flamingos wade through the lagoon behind it. Today the wind is just enough to crank up the 13er Edge. In the late afternoon, the last kiter to go out is a very good German with a strapless Core MicroFoil. On the 10 Nexus he flies out far too fast. At some point he is simply gone. The weakening sideshore wind probably drove him out to sea beyond the last corner of Sardinia. I won’t tell our little co-launch assistant…
On the way back to Sant’Antioco we make a stopover in Porto Pino. It gets a bit crowded here for the first time between the numerous beach bars. But there’s still plenty of space to kite on the fine sandy beach.
A second attempt at the southernmost beach of Sant’Antioco the next day again only results in a few metres of not-so-fun kiteboarding. Frustrated, I drive on to nearby Punta Trettu. The geography actually says “no easterly wind”. But the easterly wind turns a good 45° here and is significantly accelerated by the strait between Sant’Antioco and Sardinia. At a marvellous 18 to 20 knots, I heat across the lagoon for an hour in a 13.
The first launch site is a bit tricky with the wind now blowing south-easterly. Trees upwind swirl the wind around quite a bit – and just 50 metres downwind there are a few small boats on the jetty waiting to eat your kite. The water to the north-west of the headland is as smooth as glass and screams for big airs. To leeward, the standing area is approx. 70 metres. To the south, you have to take a wide arc around the headland, as the water here is just 5 cm deep over a distance of 150 metres. Fishing nets and ropes hang between small sticks in some places throughout the bay, which are difficult to recognise. Watch out!
Together with Regensburg kiters, we head into the old town centre for the last time and into the heart of the Sant’Antioco festival. The small taverna of Ipogeo right next to the basilica enchants us with the best pizza ever: Mozarella, grogonzola, pear and walnut sounds weird – but causes a really bad salivary gland cramp…
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.