ATTITUDE: All that stuff about the French being nasty - it’s not true. Just do yourself a favour and learn a French phrase or two - once you butcher it they’ll be much more likely to oblige with English of their own. The French are also major surf fans. They LOVE the tour coming to town.
THE WAVE: The main contest break of La Nord in Hossegor has been known to toss up a 10-to 12-foot face or two when autumn swells arrive. Extremely tidal, the soft sand beaches of the region offer the world’s best the perfect canvass for progressive surfing and reckless abandon.
PERKS: Topless tanning, mile after mile of potentially firing beach breaks, and locals doing their utmost to get you drunk.
PERILS: Chocolate-filled croissants, crepes mixed with oodles of red wine do not a thin man make, and you try to concentrate on your SURFING when you have to walk through a beach full of stunning topless babes on your way to the water. It’s a trip and fall over on the fins disaster in the making.
AFTER SURF: The Rock Food, Dick’s Sand Bar and The Cream Café Bar in Seignosse are
3 of Hossegor’s most happening hotspots. They virtually roll out the red carpet and treat the surfers like royalty when they come to town. That and also the fact that Spain is a short one-hour ride away can lay claim to an eve or two of good times.
WCT HISTORY: Quiksilver was granted a French World Championship Tour license in 2001 and the rest is history. Hossegor has wailed during the autumn waiting period annually since its inception.
NOTABLE: The Irons brothers met in their first-ever man-on-man final in France in 2004… still hurting after losing his heat against little brother Bruce the event prior, Andy was more than amped to beat his brother and win the event. He repeated the win in ’05 for good measure.
