Anglet sits between Bayonne and Biarritz on the southwest
corner of France. Along the shore are
restaurants, surf shops selling any manner of top-of-the-line surfing attire
and equipment and their less expensive and less durable equivalents. The clientele in these shops and restaurants
are a combination of surfers, surfer followers, former surfers, surfer families
and friends, wannabe surfers, photographers, and surfing appreciators—like
us. This is the surfing capital of
Europe; and we arrived on the final day of the France Surfing
Championship.
The weather was a little blustery, though it’s always like
that here—sometimes warm blustery, sometimes cold blustery—but always
blustery. Without bluster, there wouldn’t
be waves. We’ve visited Anglet several
times in previous trips and always encountered wind. The last time, we witnessed a man who lost
his surfboard in the violent surf, struggling to get to shore without the board
and heading back into the water to retrieve it.
He was a “hard-core surfer.” From
our viewpoint, he barely escaped with his life.
One can only hope he’ll finally
make it to “former surfer” status in one piece.
The crowds were thick despite the inclement weather. Photographers covered the breakwater
like albatross on a rock. Along
the wall above the sandy beach were more amateur photographers (We fit into
that category.), lots of those enthusiastic appreciators, and others who, like
us, had happened across the championship and stopped to watch.
On the beach and in the water were watercrafts at the ready
to rescue any poor soul who was in trouble.
We didn’t witness any rescues, but the watercraft operators were
vigilant, passing back and forth in front of the waves
Competitor's wait time |
The competition took place on both sides of the breakwater,
so the photographers were ideally located to focus on the side where the waves
were best and the competition was happening.
There was much waiting and watching without result.
Those who had already had their turn in the water watched with much
anticipation of their standing and much admiration of those who are more
proficient. The competition resulted in a win by Hugo Savalli. Do we have a photo of him? Don’t know for sure. But enjoy the few that follow:
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