“Looks like the sand finally lined up for this swell,” said Charly Quivront, a regular-footed barrel hound out of France’s south west, about a few days last week as this North Atlantic triple swell finally peaked in the country’s south west.
And for those world-class beachies to really be on top of their game, you need the sand to co-operate. Spots like La Nord, Culs Nus and Estagnots have picked up the slack from La Graviere, Hossegor’s famous thick-lipped keg machine, which hasn’t been right for a couple of seasons now.
Check the forecast: La Graviere
“Waves ended up being nonstop here and the wind was strong,” said Quivront. “Friday was one of those great days, ended up spending six hours in the water with all the legends out there.”
“It was massive,” said Pat Beven, a mainstay on Hossegor’s miles-long beachbreaks at any size. “For a while, I was paddling by myself, then the second day, Kauli Vaast joined me. Got a pretty big one at La Grav, very close to shore. The jury is still out on whether La Graviere will be any good next time.”
Benjamin Sanchis finding French gold at the end of the rainbow.
© 2023 - Seb Picaud
Louis Poupinel, a Hossegorien who should be on your radar.
© 2023 - Seb Picaud
Naum Ildefonse lives just down the road in Biarritz. When it’s this good, you can’t deny a lil’ trip to rival turf.
© 2023 - Seb Picaud
Despite the funkiness of La Graviere, it’s been a solid season for the Bay of Biscay. “Those sandbars have moved around a lot.” said Quivront. “A couple of massive storms, but the season’s been good in between all that.”
There’s a couple more swells on the long range forecast for the North Atlantic winter yet – stay tuned to the forecast, especially over the next few days.
Get up to date: Chasing the Dream Part I | Part II
Hossegor has some very special surf. In part, due to Le Fosse de Capbreton, a giant deep-water trench just off the coast that helps shovel swells up that way.
© 2023 - Seb Picaud
“Arrived the day before the swell from Tahiti,” said Aelan Vaast. “Pat Beven told me where to sit and we ended up getting some good ones.”
© 2023 - Jose Martian
“The large, North Atlantic low pressure system which had already produced a swell bonanza for Western Europe earlier in the week, had a sting in its tail on Wednesday, as it moved across Iceland,” said forecaster Jamie Bateman.
“Increasing wind, to the south of the storm, blew over an already agitated sea state. Imagine the swells before acting like pre-heating the oven.
“As a result, a pulse of WNW/NW swell was generated and pushed south eastwards, producing double overhead (and beyond!) surf for France’s south west beachies by February 10th, with offshore wind as the swell peaked.”
How’s Europe looking this week? Portugal and the western flank are pumping.
Check the Cams: Supertubos | Mundaka | Anchor Point | Nazare
Pat Beven’s one of the OG Hossegor barrel hounds.
© 2023 - Vince Suky
Justine Dupont can often be found in harrowing waves all over the world, but she’s just as comfortable right at home.
© 2023 - Seb Picaud
