welcomes you in Hyeres, Giens peninsula, France, rat-a-too-ee's country
and in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
also in Courchevel, Val d'Isère, French Alps and Montreux, Switzerland, my previous homes
This site is also available in and more often updated...

the last pictures taken in Feb. 2008 in Crans-Montana
pictures taken in Jan-March 2008, Oct-Nov-Dec. 2007 in Hyeres, French Riviera.

Page now in black - How do you like it ? See my new morning pix Webcam (still!) from Giens peninsula
towards L'Almanarre, Hyeres, Porquerolles island

See my trip to USA in May-June 2006 before an endless summer in S. France.
How many years before you die, you smoker, SUV driver, drug addict-or/ed ? Here is your Death Clock

My hobbies

Skiing - photos taken last February 2008 in Crans-Montana and other ski resorts like Zermatt : Feb., Mar-Apr. 2007,
      January, February, March, April 2006,

Windsurfing - photos 2007-2008 in l'Almanarre, Hyeres, France
      last summer-fall 2006 on the Riviera, Med. sea

I helped Tom from New Mexico to design his new website, forum and chat rooms. Please have a look and tell me what you think. It's all about motorcycles, ROAM, Honda Goldwings (that he owns), airplanes, Ham radio, etc. I designed SubCompresseur's website; their business is with Junkers HP compressors.

I also designed Sud Pieds Lourds' web site - they will have their own web site - this is an association composed of guys collecting hard hats, real antique brass, copper diving helmets, organizing dives with antique equipment; dry suits, copper shoes, manual pumps and compressors. See my collection of antique diving equipment.

Last news:

Crans-Montana skilifts re-opened on Sat. November 24, 2007. The red cabins, Montana Cry d'Err gondolas (1500m-2220m) and Pas du Loup chairlift are now open.
See Nik's blog and the online magazine 6th dimension.

Zermatt s from OnTheSnow.com : "Zermatt is adding two new lifts and a ski run this winter.
The old double chairlift connecting Sunnegga paradise with Breitboden via Findeln above Zermatt is being replaced by a comfortable, detachable quad chairlift with heated seats. The system, which has cost 16m Euros, accommodates 2,000 passengers per hour and has an underground station at Sunegga.
A second new lift has been built at Stockhorn to open up the Stockhorn freeride area, despite closure of the Hohtälli - Stockhorn cable railway line. In addition a medium-difficulty (red) slope has been built between Hohtälli and Kellensee to replace the Gornergrat - Hohtälli cable railway. This new connection will sharply reduce transfer time from Rothorn paradise to the Gornergrat and Matterhorn glacier paradise, greatly improving accessibility".
by Patrick Thorne



Windsurfing: Lots of wind in Hyeres, S. France in July and August. Speed slalom and East wind in December 2006. Waves and East wind in La Bergerie on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006 with some very mild temperatures. I live on the Giens Peninsula ( windsurfing pics here) between Hyeres and the wonderful Golden islands (of Porquerolles, Port-Cros, Levant) in the South-East of France; it's a very nice area, see the fishermen boats in Niel's little cute harbor, see some pictures of last year's endless summer, of April-May 2006, or some beach pics by JFI in July 05. The West and Mistral winds blew like hell beginning of July and mid-July during 5 days, like last summer in July 04, good for us windsurfers and kite-surfers. Last day was OK for the kite-surfers except for the guy who broke a few bones landing in the parking lot. In July 2001, the south of France looked a bit like paradise, like on a Greek island or in Creta where I staid in July 1999.

In Hyères - l'Almanarre - le Robinson we had the world windsurfing Championships IFCA organised by HWO, the Hyeres Windsurf Org. on October 2-7

Skiing : the skilifts in Crans-Montana, French speaking part of the Swiss Alps, will re-open for next winter around November 28. We had some good snow on the glacier till the end of the last ski season 06/07. See my daily Webcam report since November 05 or my 2007 pics. Here in Crans-Montana we had plenty of sun and snow. Crans is a famous Swiss ski-resort where we speak French, English, Russian, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and German. In March 2005 and 2006 we had the Crans-Montana snowgames with water-slide and jumps crazy. You can see the last day of powder skiing we had at the end of the 2002/03 ski season; that same winter we also had a super Airboard and Yeti contest.

Kite surfing : did you know that here in Hyeres, South of France, with MFKite.com and Ludo you can learn how to be a good kite-surfer in cristal clear hot waters ?
You don't know where Hyeres or Giens are located ? Ask Google Earth by installing their free version or have a look here.

VENTILO-SHOW 2006:
Between Oct. 26 and Nov. 5, we had the 3rd edition of the Ventilo Show with one week of kite-surfing. With three good days of wind (Nov. 1 was the best day) - See PhotoDingo

• Nov. 2-5, Grand Prix de l'Almanarre, Pro-Am Windsurf Races organised by HWO, slalom and long distance,
• Oct. 26-30, Hyeres KITE-SHOW organised by HKA between the famous spot of l’Almanarre and La Madrague,
• Oct. 26-Nov. 5, on La Madrague beach, Test Center open to ALL.

Floating : you want to have an exotic water-ride ? Go "floating" on the back in the Verdon Canyon with Roger in the South of France.

You want to spend some exotic times in Morocco ? Then fly to Marrakech and drive to the Oukaïmeden ski resort in the Atlas mountains; stay in this brand new 5* hotel
(tel. +33 1 47.23.75.13), the Kenzi LOUKA

The French flying boarder

Le Ski

Winter in the French Alps ? Oohlala!!!

Carve skiing is a good alternative to snowboarding; being more than 40, skiing seems to be better for my old bones and joints, ...

I discovered slalom racing on Salomon and Rossignol skis in Val d'Isère with the Gérard MATTIS' Val Gliss programme and that was a motivating experience, such an ambiance ! with trainees from 8 to 77, and good skiers, for sure, not noodles ("pas des nouilles") ! In 2001, I followed a course with the International Academy in Crans to become a ski instructor level 1 (there are 3 Swiss degrees).

But you'll need many week-ends to be able to jump like Marc-Antoine; on La Loze, above Plantrey chairlift in Courchevel 1850:

In January 1998 I discovered a charming little village: Aussois in Maurienne Valley, South of Savoie, France; a winter and summer savoyard village type resort. I have a friend there, Christian, a ranger of "Parc National de la VANOISE" (call him at : +33 4 79 20 31 08, he has a house which can accomodate 20 in 3 appartments facing South, and he might show you his "magnifique" area near the glaciers of La Vanoise, its wild life and flowers, Genepi drink). I went there to walk with him among the Bouquetins. Lots of animals, culture, sports, traditions, mountaineering, climbing here in Aussois, ... It is 15 kms away from the new Maurienne motorway and from a gondola (Orelle) bringing you to the top of Val Thorens-3 Vallées, 10 kms away from Modane, La Norma and Val Frejus, Italy is 20 miles away. La Norma has some very nice snow and slopes, North oriented, while Aussois is South facing and very traditionnal.

in Switzerland, its glacier (Plaine-Morte, 2950m), its runs in the trees with a nice view on Matterhorn and all summits around, its 'piste Nationale' run which hosted the World Cup finales in March 1999; Alberto was the winner, but poor Picabo lost 6 months in her career due to a broken leg.

And fabulous Zermatt with its Gornergratt (take a train), Rothorn (metro), long runs, sunshine and quiet life, ...

My favourite resorts: 1990-97

As I used to develop, market, implement software products in the ski resorts, I do know a lot of them, even Big Bear (near L.A. my love), Squaw Valley, Aspen (nice chicks there too) in US, Oukaïmeden and Ifrane in Morocco, and Chamonix in France (Les Grands Montets with ABA Argentiere Boarding Academy managed by Olivier Rosenberg), ...

The 3 Vallées

Val d'Isère - Tignes

Unique skiing area: Val with "Col Pers", the Isère river sources, "Cugnaï", its private permanent stadium (Gerard Bonnevie) for those who want to beat Herminator, or just test their limits. Tignes with "la langue du glacier" or its moggle stadium.

But you'd better go skiing or snowboarding with an instructor, the French ski school ESF or Val Gliss won't say the opposite...

See the Information on current weather and snow conditions. You can fly, drive or take the train to Val d'Isère.

Val d'Isere is hosting the following events:

• Criterium International de la Premiere Neige, in December
• "La Scara" - ski race featuring the champions of the next millennium, April
• "Classical Music Festival", April
• "International Adventure and Discovery Film Festival" in April too.

La MONGIE in the French Pyrénées

I did some powder ski there at the end of April 96 ... and if there's a Tyrolean guy singing around, it is Jacky the baker, the coolest ski-teacher on the Ski Planet. After a good day there, go find the "Yeti".

Ordino-Arcalis in Andorra

a cool resort without the crowd ...

Soldeu El Tarter

a big area in connection with the 2 other big resorts in Andorra; Grau-Roig, Pas de La Case with its duty-free stores.

Le FUNBOARD: more Wind and Snow here >>

Windsurfing was my main hobby : I started in LA in 1979 after a summerjob in Chicago, did a lot of funboard in Marseilles from 1982 to 1990 (the bouillabaisse country), after my 16 month national duty (not really military) in Morocco. Moving to Savoie, France, forced me to stop sailing for a while. Back on a coast called Cote d'Opale, North of France, south of Calais, during my summer holidays in 1997 with my family, brought me back to windsurfing ("Planche a voile" as we call it here). From Savoie I could quite often drive to a nice lake called Monteynard located 30 kms south of Grenoble (on the way to Sisteron Nice).

Now I live near l'Almanarre and there is nothing to compare... See the pics by photodingo.

In Switzerland, I used to find some good winds ("bise") around Geneva lake in Sept. October (like on October 26, 2002 - see picture in Vevey), some Joran wind in Lutry, South-East winds in St Prex and Preverenges. Where I practiced a lot was on a small lake in Wallis near Martigny, la Gouille.
'Want to see if it is windy there ? See the WebCam.

Or what about looking for good spots on Mars with Nasa, pourquoi pas ? Send me a note from there... Or ask Mr mark Shuttleworth who paid a lot for an outer space trip.


WARNING
Windsurf may easily cause a lifetime addiction that may affect your performance at work, the way you interact with people and the ability to contribute to society

Windsurfing in Crete, Switzerland, France

SITE Home About Me My ex-bike Over Fifty ? No wind, no fun

Dive links gohawaii.com Hawaïan dive club oceanconcepts.com all about diving in Hawaï Swiss divers a Swiss web site Aquanaut web site Aquanaute another but in French St Barth super West Indies Sub Compresseur, FR buy or have your HP air compressor repaired Underwater Film Festival Antibes-Juan Les Pins, FR Bali Atlantis Diving center in Bali more JMC scuba diving pages (French) Scuba Diving The Red Sea - Hurghada and the Giftun islands - was my best diving trip so far. In 2nd position come the Florida Keys, so well organised there. Do you want to go to Sharm-El-Sheik or Dahab ? Ask Blue Lagoon Free diving - Andy Le Sauce Andy is a friend free diver who used to be the world champion, recordman since 1996, staying underwater without breathing (static) during 7 minutes 35 seconds. I designed www.andylesauce.com Web site for him quickly, I mean in 7 minutes 35 seconds! Equipment : drysuits - if you dive in cold waters, you might buy a Viking drysuit, a Hunter drysuit (ex Gates), have a look at Lekies page in German, or you can buy something like this Balaena diving suit. It is a new concept of equipment (2 layers of neoprene) created by Patrick Rosso (a friend of mine, also former windsurfer in Marseilles) assisted by Theo, a Comex professional diver - I worked for this company in '82-83. Patrick founded another company, the later 3D dive and 3D kite. Books : For sale Cast A Deep Shadow, a book on Joe Savoie's helmet by Gary Harris who just published his 4th book now for sale. The book is about Joe Savoie and the invention of the modern diving helmet. Joe invented the modern lightweight helmet. Gary is selling the books for USD $32 each including shipping to Europe. If you would like a copy let me know. It has about 200 pages and 90 photos of Joe, his helmet and other older oil-field divers and gear. Above left is a download of the book's cover. Here are some sample photos : the Karl Bock prototype, the gas recirculator, an oil-field diver using the Savoie helmet. Movies : Sphere was filmed underwater in LA featuring Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone. Two other good films' websites behind the scenes : the Deep and Abyss with Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Ed Harris, directed underwater by Dive Operations manager Kris Newman (Team Hydro) and famous producers Al Giddings and J. Cameron.

Hard hat - Antique diving - Brass Helmets

I am looking for more Hard Hat Helmets, for some guenuine Copper (Brass) Diving Helmets and equipment. See my collection. If you have in your cellar or sell a diving helmet, knife or pair of shoes PIEL, PETIT, SIEBE-GORMAN, US NAVY Mark V (MORSE, MILLER-DUNN, SCHRADER or DESCO), GALEAZZI, SALVAS, SCAUDA, DRAEGER, HEINKE, please tell me.

We still have a rare shallow water helmet from Lou Hammond, Florida for sale (picture to the left), as well as some pumps, thermometer, gauges, etc.

The Historical Diving Society has a new affiliate and Web site : HDS France Welcome to our new president, Georges Koskas, formerly working for SOGETRAM and still Scaph50 secretary.

Any question on our diving heritage ? Visit Archives Maritimes. Any idea how much this Italian SALVAS helmet (circa 1920) on the right picture might cost ? Tell me.

Canyoning

During the summer, I experimented it with Les Guides de Courchevel and Marc Lazzaroni in nice canyons near Annecy, in Doron de Bozel near Brides in a river 15 kms from Courchevel. Near Nice, "clue d'Amen" was a truly nice experience, with Valberg Pulsion, directed by Alain Nicoletta, the Valberg "Ski school" director.

Hydrospeed

Goody good too; from the village of Bourg St Maurice - Les Arcs (near Peisey, La Rosiere) to Aime (La Plagne) in Savoie.

Kite surf - Fly surf

Did you know that Hyeres has a nice area reserved for kite-surfing in the middle of the 4 mile long beach of l'Almanarre ? And Ludo from MFKite can train you and give you lessons ? Visit this Swiss Web site Kite shop, the kitesurfer association website and the French Web site 3D Kite of my friend Lawrence.

And Kitesurfing Info4U
It's everything about Kite Surfing, from Costa Rica Kite Surfing to World Champion Kite Surfing.

Did you know that Wales is also at the forefront of the hot new sport of kitesurfing, with top location Rhosneigr on Anglesey ?
Did you know that John Kerry is a kite-surfer ?

Roger Verdegen and Verdon Animation Nature (+33.4.92.74.66.94) invite you to have an exotic water-ride, feet front, on the back, in Gorges du Verdon, Verdon Canyon, La Palud, South of France, kms away from Digne, Castellane, Moustiers. An experience with a guy who knows the river. See ProvenceWeb.

Golf

In Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on the superb golf course we have the Omega European Masters, this year will be between Sep. 5 and 9, 2007. . This is the 2nd largest event in Europe after the British Open.
The 2001 edition winner was Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez with an average drive of 303 yards.
On Sunday Sept.5, 2004, Luke Donald won with a score of -19.

My best golf links were in Pebble Beach, California (where you have to play in 4h30!), Palos Verdes Estates, south of LA; Monaco (ah Stéphanie !), Algarve in Portugal and of course Méribel, France and Crans-sur-Sierre.

Riding Motorcycles

I used to have a blue "mobylette" when I was in high school, spent too much time working on it instead of studying for my baccalaureat!
My first ride on a 250cc motorcycle was somewhere in Southern California, North of LA, back in 1978, before graduating as an engineer. It was my girlfriend's father from Palos Verdes who invited me to share some very good moments; 3 motorcycles on a trailer and off we went in the desert.

In Switzerland several years ago I decided it was time to have a rider's licence; I purchased a BMW 650 ST and rode it for several months. It's only after 2 years of riding a bike less than 850 that you could take a 2nd exam on a bigger model. That's when I traded my 650 for a safer 2002 BMW R 1150 RT that I liked much. I was thinking of trading again for the new K1200GT (4 cylinders) or a Honda Pan ST 1300 but my preferences might go sooner or later for a Goldwing 1800 - see my pics of the 2003 GW Treffen in Switz. - especially since my ride on a gold Goldwing rented at Joe Harrison - JHMS in San Antonio, Texas, in June 06 with Chapter O members from Austin. In Switzerland, I might rent another one at Goldwing Center.

Bikes

I used to have a Scott mountain bike in addition to a Cannondale road bicycle. Then my friends from T9 - a distributor in Marseilles, France - gave me a new Carbon frame sample from the Canadian company ARGON18. I now ride a Decathlon mountain bike which did not cost a lot at all and a road bicycle with a Daccordi frame.

My JOB

My goal: be a Business Objects or Cognos expert (SAP BW could do too).
I used to work in software development, project coordination, Internet/Intranet, learning eCommerce, Visual C++ lately with a Swiss watch group. Now I am a part-time instructor, I was a CRM project manager for CNet Europe working with the package eRelationship from Pivotal, I was a consultant with the Swiss agency of the American consultancy CAMBRIDGE Technology Partners (CTP), a company of the NOVELL group, training on the CRM package Siebel, on Microsoft IIS and developing in MS-ASP. I worked for quite a while as a Project Leader on a large project for one of the top (and the best) US company with HQs in Lausanne; working in all sorts of environments, ERPs like:

SAP R/3, ORACLE APPLICATIONS, JD EDWARDS. CTP was a partner of PEOPLESOFT.

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