Brittany: for surf and crêpes

Last April Thomas Traversa and his girlfriend Sophia Regerbis ventured north on the French autoroute for a trip to the region of Brittany. 1,200 kilometres for a chance of some surf and crêpes au chocolat, the true travellers’ spirit.

Where
Brittany is located in the northwest part of France and is the wildest part of France´s coastline. Like a point towards the Atlantic, this area is exposed to all the low pressures, which means heavy rain but also makes it very green and uncrowded. It´s very consistent for waves, but not so much for the wind. It looks like Ireland, or Galicia, with a lot of beautiful beaches, cliffs and bays; a sweet mix of ocean, green landscapes and granite. As a Celtic territory, Brittany has its own culture, very strong and linked to the sea. This area has nothing to do with Paris, even if it´s one of the favourite destination of Paris upper class people, who always go come for their holidays. The rest of the year, this area is uncrowded, only the locals and a few campers/surfers hang out there, mostly from Belgium, Holland or Germany.

When
At the end of winter, the weather is getting warmer and nicer there. The spring makes the place so colourful, if you have the chance to get sunny weather, with easterly winds (offshore), the scenery is unique, and well worth a drive. We went at the beginning of April: the forecast was showing sun, ‘warm’ temperatures, waves, and maybe some wind, southeast and then northeast. A good occasion for my girlfriend Sophia to discover this special part of France, and for me to spend some time in the water!

What
After hesitating a little bit, because of the 1,200 km drive from Marseille and the wind looking really light, we finally decided to give it a try. Since this place is so nice with good weather, it would have been a nice trip even without wind. In the end we got some wind, light but enough to sail. The first day we sailed in the south of Brittany and scored some head high waves and cross off port tack winds. Enough for JB Caste, who also wanted to come, to decide to jump on a plane and catch the second day of wind. This time, we sailed a bit more north, as we visited Robin Goffinet, a friend and one of the riders in the Fuerte and Reunion Wave Classic events. Robin lives in the heart of Brittany, where he works as a surf shaper, and never misses a good wavesailing session. He recently decided to shape his first windsurf board (the yellow board one!), and was excited to try it in proper conditions. He brought us to one of his favourite surf spots, where there was a nice right peeling on top of a sand bank; only a few kilometres away from the famous point break of l´Ile aux Vaches, in Audièrne. This proved to be the right choice, as the wind picked up and offered us a great day of wavesailing, just the three of us. If it weren’t for the freezing water (not more than 11 degrees Celsius), it would have been a perfect day!

Crêpes
After this session we had a crêpes evening at Robin´s awesome house (Brittany is famous for its crêpes), and then Sophia and me spent the next two days in Crozon, enjoying the nice weather and the small swell… Crozon is the roughest part of Brittany, with high cliffs and large beaches, where the swells arrive full power! You can see a lot of old houses in the few villages that you find in this big area, it makes you feel a bit like in Asterix! It´s my favourite part of Brittany, because it´s so wild. The very north of Brittany is also very nice, with almost no hills and thousands of small and big bays, kind of sheltered from the storms, where the tide plays a huge role. The south of Brittany is very interesting, but human beings and money are more present. This is where you will find the nicest and best sailing boats, spread all over the famous little harbours like la Trinité or Port La Fôret. All in all a lot to see and enjoy. Just don’t forget to bring a rain coat!