One Armed Bandit
Mat, back on his new board had some really good waves, in particular a screaming right to which french local said "good wave". In the afternoon went to La Grarive and watched the qualifying rounds for the Quicksilver Pro Competition. We went back out in the evening to V V F where we surfed the right hand side which was packed with locals. One local said "this is a tube station!"
On the paddle out I looked to my right and saw a surfer standing up in a barrel with dark shadows cast over him. All the locals were screaming and shouting. The ride itself was very fast and very short and this is where we experienced our worst wipeouts of the holiday. The locals also found it treacherous and we saw them strolling up the beach with broken boards.
Next day we left Hossegor and drove up the coast past La Rochelle to the Vendee region. When we got there we decided to surf and the water was noticably colder. The waves were mushy and reminded me of back home. We checked out Les Dunes after checking out a few other breaks and for once the conditions were not overhead!
In fact, we had a few more seconds to get to our feet when compared with the waves in the south.In the morning a local reef was working called La Sauzaie. I decided against going in as it was very, very crowded and I am not used to surfing reefs. Mark and Mat went in. They had to catch the wide sets as the peak became too busy with locals.
Came out and surfed at Les Dunes in the afternoon which was fun. The weather took a turn for the worse and the wind was also strengthening so we decided to come home one day early.All in all an epic adventure. We enjoyed the waves more in Spain than in France as they simply provided more variety. The trip has definitely wet my appetite for more travelling and surfing and I can't wait to go again!
