Anglet Storm!

Amaro Matos

First day in Anglet (next to Biarritz), despite the unpromising weather forecast, was beautiful! Clear blue sky, light winds, nice waves: a perfect day for the longboard championship and for us to take photos... so that's just what we did and got plenty of great shots. We also sold the surfboard Paul had bought in Costa Rica, which he ended up not liking, and got me back a new board (since we sold my board in Costa Rica to get Paul's new board... hehehe...)...

Jared Neal

The next day was more cloudy so we went to test the new surfboard, our wetsuits, and the french waves... painful experience! In the time it took us to get ready, a strong onshore wind picked up and the ocean became horribly choppy and disorganized.... with a strong current, and numbing water temperatures... Paul managed to catch a few waves but i caught only one, and my feet were too numb to be properly controled, and i couldn't get them to get up on the board!!!
So... i'm not sold on the surf in France yet!

Ned Snow

That same night, a big storm hit southwestern France and caused several rivers to flood nearby villages. The floods also caused plenty of silt and rubbish and lumber to go out into the ocean, which turned a coffee-with-milk brown...
The stormy weather since hasn't really left: the winds are strong, the weather unstable, the water unappealing.... It must not be fun for the championship contestants to have to go surf in those conditions!!