The wind was forecast to arrive in the early morning, but it was late in arriving, and the day dawned still and quiet. Except for me, who was celebrating winning Pinch’n’Punch for October.

We noted that there was a more orderly bridge opening at 0830h, mainly because there were fewer boats waiting to go through in the morning.

When the wind had picked up a little, we realised we would not be going anywhere today, so looked for something else to do. Since it was only 20 minute bike ride to the Med, Rita decided to satisfy her beach desire and I tagged along. The wind was a bit stronger near the water, but since it was at our backs we didn’t mind it.

We checked out the boat harbour, and then continued riding to reach the beach.

But by the time we got there, the wind had strengthened, so we spent our time huddled in the shelter of the sand dunes and watching a young girl doing gymnastics practice on the sand. The idea of going for a swim had dwindled in Rita’s mind, so we started to head back. Initially, we tried riding along a beach path, but it ended in a tangle of weeds and bushes, so we back-tracked and came back along the roads.

But what was a 20 minute ride to the beach with the wind, turned into a 40 minute ride home against the wind. At least one person was enjoying the freshening wind, as this kite surfer relished the conditions.

At one point as we road down a hill, I stopped pedalling and eventually came almost to a stop into the wind. I now knew how birds feel when they’re gliding into the wind. On the way home, we passed three sporting venues which I felt captured the spirit of this part of France; a Rugby field, a Petanque court and a Bullring.

While the breeze had freshened while we were out riding our bikes, it didn’t really pick up until about 1300h. So I stayed indoors working on this blog, while Rita checked her emails and then did some shopping. When the bridge opened at 1600h, only two crazies went through. Clearly, few boats were moving on the Etang today on either side of Frontignan. Indeed, no boats arrived from the west today, so the Etang de Thau must have been closed to navigation.

The wind patterns on the canal gave an indication of what conditions were like, and this was in a sheltered port location.

But despite the conditions, the good folk of Frontignan were out this evening practicing their rowing - it looked cold and miserable, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.