OFF THE BEATEN TRACK // Surfing in Bretagne

Off the Beaten Track again with our favorite french surfer-girl, Hannah. This time surfing in Bretagne. As you remember her last article here , she was surfing in Normandy. Since that, Hannah and her boyfriend, Kevin, decided to leave almost everything, buy a van, fill it with surfboards and just go travel! they went one year in Ireland to discover the country and its waves! and now they are back on the west coast of France, in Bretagne or Brittany as you prefer! searching for the perfect french uncrowded wave.

“Hi Fede And Friends! I’m so happy to be back on this blog to talk about surf in my own country, Bretagne. As you know, France is amazing for waves. I told you about Normandy last time here, but all the west coast is even more wonderful to surf. Here, I really want to share some tips to plan surfing in a new area. It’s possible and magic when you begin in a new spot.

CHECK ONLINE. The first step to discover a new surf spot is to check online. Nowadays, everything is easier with social network.  We looked on Google Maps to see how was the coast, which wind it could be better for waves. Youtube is also a great way to see videos of the swell, how the spot change, and that’s always great to see a surf video. You also have all this great website as Windguru, MagicSeaWeed, you can spend hours to discover a new coast to surf ! But that’s also why I love surfing, it’s kind of tricky. You need to do so much more to almost « deserve » a wave.

GO TO THE BEACH. Anyway, it will never be the same until you’re not in the spot. The next step is to go on the beach: that’s my favorite part. I mean surfing is great but I feel even more exciting when it’s time to discover a spot for the first time. It’s a worldwide feeling, in every country you go for the very first time, in every spot, you should have sparkles in your eyes when you see the beach that you were dreaming of.

LOOK AND TALK. Next step is to have a look and talk with some local. We need to take our time, it’s not because you read a hundred informations online that you know the spot. Where are the rocks, the reef or the sand part ? How is the swell working today? Is it easy to go to the line up or not at all? All this questions that is good to check before to run in the water.

TALK TALK TALK. Traveling is not complete if you don’t meet people. In the surf mood, we all share the same strong power of the swell and we need it to live. Be in a new spot is also great to talk to surfers around. If they’re already in the water, you can visit a surf school or a surf shop to ask some questions. Someone who knows the spot will be always happy to discuss about it, and it’ll be even better at the line up if you already talk to a local. By the way, the line up could be a good place to smile to each other ! 🙂

DREAM vs REALITY. Most of the time, a wave is not the same perfect one as you saw on Youtube just few weeks ago, but you know that surfing is like that. Surfing is much more than a sport that you can do whenever and wherever you want. Surfing is being off the beaten track, always searching for your own unique perfect wave. Everyone is different, we all want a bigger/smaller/cleaner swell that it is today in front of us. I feel it’s even harder when you don’t know the spot. We are always expected something better for us: the dream place.

SO, doesn’t matter if it’s for holidays or forever, going in a new surf spot it’s always something special. We all dream of a beach to surf, whatever if it’s in California, Bali, Australia or France, we dream of it. I wasn’t dreaming of the swell of Ireland or France at the beginning of all this adventure… but I was chocked to understand that it will do something to me anyway.

SURFIN IN BRETAGNE . If you take a map of France, you will see that our West Coast is divided in three parts. The North is Brittany. This is an amazing place to surf, the water is see-true and it’s full of different kind of beaches. At the opposite you will find the south west, already famous for being the best beach break of Europe. It’s perfect beaches with sand, perfect city as Soorts-Hossegor or Biarritz. These place are a dream for every surfer, even if you just like the surf atmosphere.

In the middle, you will find where we are now. We also have great waves, not so often that in the south but really good for us. It’s also sand and magic « never end » beaches. We are in love. The track is different because we have time to find our next great spot with no rush. We use the same way of searching. We discover step by step our new spot for surfing. Slowly, we meet other surfers also ready to share good plan for a next surf-trip.

Some of us enjoy the big Indonesian’s waves on the reef, some don’t. I don’t. That’s exactly why I love the west coast of France more than ever now. We went back after an amazing year to find place to live. Now, we are starting our new last track to find good waves but this time, not just for holidays. Don’t worry, we’ll continue our travel with surf trip again and again ! Always with @FedeSurfbags with us !”

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