surfing brittany, france

Welcome in Brittany, a very underestimated french surf region, a place where locals go on a surftrip every time they want to surf. Automn is approching, the local wave fest is about to begin and here comes an appetizer. Boards and wetsuits are already in the car, take place and lets go for a short road trip in Brittany, degemer mat e Breizh...

looking for the perfect spot...
This story took place three years ago but could easily have happened last week or everytime a big low pressure arrives on the west Ireland area. This thursday morning, the swell was starting to pump on the west coast, two close friends and I had a few days-off and were ready to cruise and score some perfect waves. Wind was from the east so we decided to drive to Crozon, 70 km away. Nearly one hour later, there we were, riding 1,2m low tide sand sucking barrels at Lostmarc’h. Tide was coming, we waited for a high tide surf at La Palue before coming back to Brest. At around three in the afternoon, wind started to turn to the south east (side off shore) as the low was approaching, swell was still on the rise like the web said, we rode 1,5 to 2m water walls until night. Next few days were looking very promising on the web forecasts with the opportunity to ride a few “go off once a year” reef breaks.

Next morning was out of control everywhere on Brittany’s tip : strong south-westerly winds and a big 6m westerly swell. Before dawn, the three of us were all in Fanch’s big car, cruising under a pouring rain to Douarnenez, 100km south. That left handed point-break was supposed to be the place to be on a day like this. That unfortunately wasn’t as we discovered after the one and a half hour car ride. At this time, this spot looked like kind of a mystical place to us, sometimes offering crazy rides a few meters from the rocks, sometimes nothing at all with what seemed to be exactly the same swell. We know now only a few degrees on the swell direction would separate a perfect day there from a complete time and gas waste, experience always pays…

Other guys were on the car park, some wanted to go back to bed, we didn’t. So we took the car again to reach the north coast and Locquirec where a phone call informed us about fine waves. That was another one hour drive for surf on dangerous little roads accros "les Monts d'Arrets" moutains (300m high...) but we scored and by the middle of the afternoon we were back to Brest completely exhausted. Saturday, the left handed pointbreak of the previous day was firing all day long but was also crowded like never before. We were not part of it, too far, too expensive ? No, thanks to a few locals, we had found a more quiet and confidential place with still great waves to ride on the north shore. We surfed there all day, moving from one spot to another depending on the tide. Sunday, the swell died as wind turned to the north-west under a clear sky. Brest area was the place : Le Minou, Dalbosc, Porsmilin, pleasant hollow waves under the cliffs, some of the best surfers of the region too but “there is no place like home” local surfer Philippe Monbet would say. That was it for our four days surfing quest : 9 hours in a car, more than 700 km for about 14 hours of surfing…

The country : bathed by both the Atlantic and the English Channel, the region belongs to France since 1532 and it is still considered a special place by many locals. People are proud of Brittany, of its rich countryside and the natural beauty of its coastline, proud and at the same time scared of its sea that stole so many lives. Smooth and calm one week, wild and dangerous like hell the next, everyone here agree with that : “don’t play with the ocean as you will never win…”. Windsurfers had a pretty hard time in the 80’s trying to explain that they wanted to play with the ocean, “I’m going windsurfing but don’t tell Mom and Dad…”.These fears still persist today and are not about to disappear in people’s mind. Windsurfers are now well accepted but they have a sail on to escape from waves. Now look at those surfers, and try to explain a old fisherman that, yes, waves are big today but all we want to do is to go out there and have fun with only that tiny little board for flotation. Surfing sounds and looks like a nonsense to him. Brittany has a rude and wet climate, great varieties of landscapes, numerous bars, music, parties, people, a very tortured coastline and of course, some of the most wild places in France. Good waves, bays and points that allow you to search for the ideal orientation. You need more that words to get convinced, look closer to those pictures.

Spots all aroundIt's always that same old scheme that goes on everywhere in the world and Brittany isn’t an exception : like in the previous story, everything starts here with a low pressure. A swell is approching and Brittany can show all a peninsula can offer : you can find spots for almost every wind and swell direction. Here is a rapid spot-check in order to help you to stand at the right place at the right time. We can broadly divide the region in four surfing areas.

4- Forget the south western coast and lets go straight to Lorient, 70 km east of Quimper. Guidel and Fort Bloque are Lorient beaches. Often crowded with small surf, very decent waves can be found with south westerly to westerly swells. 40 km east is Quiberon and La Cote Sauvage. Maybe the best low tide beach break in Brittany so you won’t be the only one out for Port Rhu’s tricky barrels and Port Blanc long left handed walls. On your way to Quiberon, have a stop in Pentievre, a large bay that offers kilometres of soft and easy waves. People : Dan Billon, Dom Gajan, Fred Bahuon, Remy Bahuon, Yann Canuel, Anne Cécile Le Tallec...

This spot guide wouldn’t be complete without a brief paragraph on Brittany’s islands. There are dozens of them around Brittany, some inhabited, some not, some are seabirds only and most of them have waves on : Belle Ile, Les Glenants, Sein, Houat, Groix … For a most complete surf spot report, surfers not already addicted to the famous Stormrider Guide should give it more than a close look. Keywords for a pleasant trip in Brittany are respect and descent attitude toward the locals and the environment!

Gale "Blow" Blouet testing his last shape

Dom Gajan on a right far from everywhere

road book
Statistics : 270 km long,150 km wide.
Coastline : between 1000 and maybe 2500 km at low tide with all those narrow bays.
Pop : 3 000 000 with Rennes the region capital, main cities are Brest, Lorient, Quimper, St Brieuc
Language : French and ‘Breton’.
How to get there : TGV trains and planes are both very fast but to carry your entire surf quiver for this Brittany trip, a car or van is all you need. It takes a four to five hours drive from Paris to reach the north coast. You’ll know you’re in Brittany when the expensive toll road ends, roads are free in Brittany and that doesn’t mean bad roads.
What to bring : take your usual surf boards and a bigger one (for ex. a 6'6") for good days on some reefbreaks. Getting a good and detailed local map and a tide chart are capital points to be at the right place at the right time. Brittany has some of the biggest tidal ranges in the world. Get free “Ocean Surf Report” tide charts in most surf-shops, remember two hours separates high tides in Brest and Saint Malo while the difference is not significant between Brest and the south coast. Don’t forget a 4/3 wetsuit, booties, ear plugs and optional gloves for those wintry sessions, a 3/2 or less is enough for summertime.
Where to stay : Depending on how long you want to stay, various options are possible. Forget about camping under a never stopping rain, most camp sites are closed off season. The best solution is a van : like a snail, you carry everything with you, you boards, food and house. You can stop wherever you want unless you are quiet enough, cruise whenever you want and always get ready to move from one place to another on the never ending perfect spot quest. You don’t own a van, rent a small house with a few friends. Good points are that you’ll have the opportunity to take hot showers after the session and dry wetsuits for the next morning session. Bad points is the cost but off season prices can be very affordable if not cheap. The best places to rent houses or “gites ruraux” are the Crozon and Audierne areas, those are central little cities from where you can reach almost every interesting spots in an hour. Too many telephone numbers to give so the best solution is to arrive early in the morning and ask at the “Office du Tourisme” for some addresses : Crozon (0033 (0)298 27 07 92), Audierne (0033 (0)298 70 12 20). Check also for roadsigns for house rentals around La Palue or Lostmarc’h in Crozon or try the “gite d’etape” of Saint Hernot near La Palue at 0033(0)298 27 15 00.

Meteo check: Air temp range : between 0° and 25 °C. Water temp range : between 8° and 17° on the north coast, 8° and 20°C in the south. Best season to visit the area is between September and November. During this period, water and air temperature are still very correct plus the first north Atlantic powerful low pressure systems make wind and wave very consistent. Winter is also very good but a lot more hardcore : cold water, rainy days, strong wind and waves. Spring can get pleasant with occasional very good surprises. Summertime is at your own risks. Well known spots are almost crowded all year round during holidays or week-ends but you’ll be surprised how calm they can be during the rest of the week. Weather check and forecasts in the newspapers : Ouest-France or Le Telegramme, waves forecasts on : http://surfouest.free.fr/ or on your favourite forecasts websites.
web check: lesurfeurbreton.free.fr, www.bzhecume.com, surfouest.free.fr