The social side of a surf competition
Charlie’s Trip to Seignosse/Hossegor in October 2019
Charlie had previously stayed at Carwyn’s Surf House close to Hossegor in the South West of France. When she was there for the Easter weekend earlier in the year, Jane who runs the house had recommended to return to this place in October when the Quiksilver Pro France would take place there. And that’s what Charlie did. This time, she stayed for almost two weeks as it wasn’t predictable which days the competition would take place depending on the weather and the conditions in the water.
As so often, Charlie had an early flight and arrived at the airport in Biarritz at 9 in the morning. Carwyn and Jane picked her up in the car and they drove directly to the surf house. Well, not directly, there was one place where they had to stop: a little bakery in Hossegor where they made the best quiches in town. It would turn into Charlie’s daily routine to stop with the bike at this bakery on her way down to the beach for the rest of her stay.
Whom Charlie met at the house
When they arrived at the house, Charlie met two of the other guests who were playing a game of chess in the living room. At first, she had the impression that they were both traveling together until it turned out that they weren’t. Maria and Moses had both arrived the day before and had met in the blablacar on their way to the house. What a funny coincidence. And because that was so random, Carwyn gave her the nickname Random. That’s what everybody would call her for the rest of the week. Carwyn likes to give people nicknames which is a nice way to remember people.
Random engineering works
Maria and Moses who were playing chess when Charlie arrived were the first ones she met that day. Apart from board games, Moses had another great passion: building things. He was an engineer and was really living it. His big project for the week would be a bike rack to carry the surfboards down to the beach to not need to rely on anybody with a car. Carwyn drove him down to the store and they came back with a set of pipes, clams, and glue. As Moses showed his engineering talent, Charlie assisted, watched, and learned. They really ended up with a rack for the surfboard. They also had the plan to paint it in a funny colour and sign it, but they ran out of time in the end as the first prototype failed the test. Moses had gotten in a heavy rain and had lost track. Whilst driving through the forest, he got stuck in a bush and the rack broke. The second attempt though was successful and Carwyn now owns a bike with a board rack.
Charlie’s photography assistant
The next person that Charlie met was Sarah and they immediately realized that they had a lot in common, almost too much. They were both German and had been living in Toulouse and London for some time and they both had originally applied for a position in the foreign office. Oh, and their birthdays were only 2 weeks apart from each other. They could have almost been the same person. On Charlie’s first day, the others wanted to go surfing although the weather wasn’t great. Charlie joined them on the beach, not to surf, but to test the camera equipment. Sarah wasn’t in the mood for water either and joined Charlie on her mission. She quickly turned into a great assistant who helped Charlie a lot over the next few days setting up her photography station on the beach. Charlie was very grateful, especially when it started raining and things had to be packed up very quickly. They went to a bar called “Rocksalt” to have a coffee. That’s how Charlie and Sarah became friends. They had a great connection and that is what Charlie loves about surf places. She always meets like-minded people.
Picked up in the van
The atmosphere at Rocksalt that afternoon was great as lots of surfers were around waiting for the Quickie Pro to start. That was immediately visible as they entered the bar. Later that day, they were picked up by Carwyn and Jane in the van. It was a special van with a very cozy feel to it as it could be used for longer travels. It was equipped with a bed, an oven, and some useful camping equipment. That van used to be an ambulance which gave Moses what he needed for his joke of the week: “We had to be picked up from the beach by an ambulance.” His sense of humour might be debatable.
The next day, they went to see the competition in the morning and went surfing themselves in the afternoon. On their way back they stopped by the road as Carwyn was having a quick chat with somebody standing there. It turned out to be Martin Potter, former surf champion and now commenting on TV about the world tour. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time for Charlie to get a chat with him, otherwise, she would have told you about that already.
They took a little detour that day as there were two more people to be picked up from the train station in St. Vincent de Tyrosse. Aidan and Jeremy were both a bit surprised about the funny round of surfers waiting for them in the van with beers in their hands. They were both from London and just staying for the weekend.
The drivers
Charlie calls them the drivers as they both had their own cars and didn’t have to rely on Carwyn to be driven around. They were Julien who was from Toulouse (another one that Charlie could have met earlier in life) and had come for a few days of surfing and Tomek who had been driven from Poland and was on his way to Spain where he had booked a para-gliding course for a few weeks later. He was just passing through but decided to stay at Carwyn’s a bit longer as it was so nice. He also offered quite often to give the others a lift to the beach or a club in town. When Charlie asked him how they could thank him, he spontaneously said: “coconut cake”. That was an easy one! And everybody loved Charlie’s cake.
Visitors from Down Under
There was only one guest who really was from Australia, Troy, but Charlie mentions Richard here as well. He was from the UK but his father was Australian and he got on super well with Troy which in Charlie’s opinion justifies grouping them here together. Having an Aussie staying in the house also brought up some memories of Carwyn’s time in Australia in the 80s. Charlie was exposed to the finest of 80s-Aussie-Rock.
Troy had been traveling through Europe for a few weeks and his last stops were France and then Portugal before he would have to return home. Richard had spent the summer working in a surf camp in Spain and stopped for a few rest days at Carwyn’s before he had to return to real life in the UK.
They both stayed as equally long at Carwyn’s Surf House as Charlie and there were a few days where it was just the three of them creating some great memories that will last a lifetime, but more on that later.
French visitors
Many more people have come and gone over a two-week period, but most of them only stayed for one or two days and kept more to themselves as they arrived in groups. There were two French guys from the Bretagne. One of them Mika, is working in Bordeaux for a winery. Who would have thought to ever have a wine tasting at a surf house? Charlie told him upfront that she wasn’t the target audience, but the wine kept on flowing. And they learned that most Bordeaux wines are blends and the ones he presented were the exception by being 100% Malbec and 100% Cabernet. If you want to try them too, you can find them at Chȃteau Fleur Haut Gaussens.
There also was a French family with two little kids, a couple, and some French girls. That resulted in Charlie being surrounded by only French speakers one morning around the breakfast table. What a perfect opportunity to brush up on her French! It had gotten a bit rusty, but she could still hold a conversation and join in on the laughter when the little 7-year-old boy was asked for the time and proudly announced that it was precisely 9.36 a.m. His mum was fascinated by the pictures Charlie had taken on the beach and they ended up in a nice conversation about surfing and photography – in French obviously!
To surf or not to surf
Charlie’s main purpose for the trip to Hossegor this time was to see the Quiksilver Pro. She was prepared that she might not surf as much, and she knew that the conditions might not be suitable for her level of surfing. And she was right. She went in the water with the others a few times, but what she did could hardly be called surfing. Well, she was getting wet and whirled around a bit.
One afternoon, Tomek had driven them all down to the beach but not even Troy who was the most experienced surfer from Australia didn’t really like those conditions. They still tried to catch a few waves, but Charlie stayed on the beach and took pictures of them instead.
There was another day when the competition was off (due to bad conditions) but Charlie, Richard, and Troy wanted to give it a try. They were dropped off by Carwyn at Capbreton and went in the water.
They didn’t last long though and decided to get a coffee in a little bar across the street. There was another surf house around the corner where Richard had previously stayed, and he wanted to go there to say hi to the owner. They stayed there for a bit and met some more people. Charlie had a really good conversation with somebody from California. They were talking for a while about the US road trip she had done a year earlier, and she was given some more recommendations on where to travel. (Not that she would ever run out of destinations on her bucket list!)
Sunrise and Sunset
During the whole week, there were many events going on sponsored by Roxy and Quiksilver. That’s how Charlie ended up booking a sunrise Yoga session at the beach by the lake in Hossegor. It was only €5 and a great session. Charlie even got a towel as a gift and it was beneficial that she understood French as that was the language the instructor spoke.
On the last day of the competition, Charlie was in the mood to get back to the house when Troy and Richard messaged that they were still at a bar at La Gravière so she decided to join them for one beer. It was a lucky decision as she hadn’t even realized before that there was a beautiful sunset to be seen at the beach.
Rainy days
Over the two weeks that Charlie stayed in France, she has seen the whole range of seasons. There were some proper summer days with blue sky, sun, and 30+ degrees, but there were also those rainy days with thunderstorms. Charlie was lucky that the little balcony next to her room had a roof, so she could still lie in the hammock and get some work done – just with a blanket.
The first rainy day happened to be a Sunday and they all decided to check what was on TV. It almost felt like a travel through time and space as they ended up watching Free Willy and Jurassic Park. Julien used the time to prepare some traditional French crepes. (Yum!)
Lunch treat
On Charlie’s last day, just before heading off to the airport, she went for lunch with Carwyn and Richard. It was almost a tradition. Last time, she had been with Carwyn at a restaurant in Capbreton, this time they went to a place in Saint-Geours-de-Maremme. The lunch offer was a three-course meal with unlimited wine for €13.50. They were having a fun time. The waiter obviously liked Richard which made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but Carwyn was enjoying the jokes he made out of it.
After lunch, Carwyn wanted to show Charlie one more place. They drove down to the river and Charlie got a few more pictures of the landscape. However, the pictures are a demonstration of the wine they had had over lunch.
Evenings among surfers in Hossegor
The last time Charlie had stayed at Carwyn’s surf house, they stayed in every night as nobody was really interested in going out. This time, it was a bit different as there were some party animals in the group and it was also the time of the Quickie Pro and a lot would be going on in the evenings.
The evening usually started with cooking. Every day, one person would cook for the others who were of course helping. However, it isn’t always helpful to have many helpers, especially when you can’t agree on the amount of garlic and chili.
But they had some tasty meals every night accompanied by a few beers and some rounds of pool. On the night of the full moon, they went on a little walk and Charlie was happy that she had brought the tripod.
Jo&Joe Hossegor
The first Friday was a party at Jo&Joe in Hossegor organized by Quiksilver and they found out that night that trying to get a cab in Hossegor is as much of a gamble as playing the lottery. Tomek then offered to drive down twice to get everybody to the party and back to the house later. It was a lovely party location outdoors in between the pine trees on sandy ground. What surprised them all was the price for a beer though: €8. Yes, you’re right if you’re thinking now that this is more than a pint in London. Charlie hadn’t anticipated either that they wouldn’t accept cash, but only card payments in the club. Jeremy saved her on that occasion.
The Coolin Hossegor
After a few quiet evenings at the house, Tomek spontaneously decided to drive down to the beach for a sunset surf on Tuesday evening. Troy, Richard, and Charlie took that opportunity and joined him – not for surfing, but to go to a bar. The Coolin is more like a restaurant during the day and turns into a club at night. It is directly at the promenade at the beach La Gravière. They got there for the happy hour. As Tomek was in the water, Charlie, Troy, and Richard kept the Mojitos coming.
After a while, Troy heard some familiar accents and that’s how they met some other Aussies – one of them being from the same town as Troy. What a coincidence. It was the first time that Charlie went out with Australians. It was an interesting night, although she is not sure they made Australia particularly attractive as a travel destination. Maybe, the Mojitos can be blamed on this occasion.
They were later joined by somebody else who also recognized the Australian accent: Tom was from Cornwall but had been living in Australia for quite some time. He got the nickname “Tom the Pom” as the British are called “Pommies” in Down Under. Troy though was appalled when Tom revealed the tattoo he has to remember his time on the other side of the world: A glass of Vegemite on his right chest. Troy felt betrayed. How dare the Pommie tattooing a Vegemite on his body? For Charlie, the whole scene was just entertaining.
They kept on seeing those same people occasionally by the beach and on nights out the next few days.
Boardriders Surfnight
Two days later, Thursday night, was another event as part of the competition at the Boardriders shop in Capbreton. It felt a bit strange to have a bar and DJ set in between the surfboards and clothes for sale, but it was an interesting experience. Again, Charlie got the chance to put her French to the test as she got into a conversation with some lovely French girls. They were from Paris and had just moved down to Hossegor to get a bit of the surf lifestyle. They were all fascinated by the tattooist who was doing his work in the middle of the shop, and the middle of the party. Charlie was going to see those girls again on Saturday at Escargot but in the end, she decided to stay in. Why is that?
Well, it turned out to be a bit difficult to get around the area at night. Two nights before, they had wanted to stay a bit longer after Tomek’s surf session and ended up hitch-hiking back to the house. (Charlie hopes her mum will never read this!)
Now this night at the Boardriders shop they had gotten a lift by a friend of Richard’s who lived in that area. Somehow though, they had forgotten to tell Charlie that they continued the party at the Coolin when things had finished at the shop. That’s how she found herself in the middle of the night in Capbreton trying to play the taxi gamble again. She spoke to some French girls, Mathilde, Julie, and Celia who were still there and also planning to get to the Coolin. They offered Charlie a lift. Lucky her! They first had to get in the car with Damien, a friend of Mathilde, who would drive them all to her car. Charlie was lucky to fit in the car and again lucky that she spoke French. Those girls were lovely, and they had a fun time singing and chatting in the car before they reached the Coolin. Later that night, Celia approached Charlie again just to check that she was okay and to find out if she had found the others. What a lovely girl!
Charlie managed to find Richard and Troy in the packed club and made sure to not leave them out of her sight again. As it turned out later, that wasn’t helpful as they had gotten a lift down to the Coolin by somebody else and the car that could have brought them home was still in Capbreton. They ended up calling Carwyn at 3 in the morning asking him to pick them up. They were lucky he heard the phone and very nice of him to come down to the beach to pick them up and get them home safely. Charlie couldn’t thank him enough and decided to not go out with the guys again.
It must be said on this occasion because Charlie usually writes about all the amazing people she meets on her travels. She has made some great memories over the years, met some very fascinating people, and made close connections. But of course, amongst 100 amazing people is the occasional odd one who turns out to be less amazing when it matters. Well, they apologized the next morning for leaving the party without her and they spent a few more great days together at the house – but Charlie did not go out with them again.
Beers, Gin and Tonic
Staying in can also be a lot of fun, especially when you have a brewery around the corner. It’s a very tiny one in a warehouse but can be reached on foot in under 5 minutes. They usually close at 5 p.m. but Rosny Beer is the perfect place to start the evening on a hot day. Charlie was still in her bikini after a swim in the pool and just quickly put a shirt on as they were about to leave to the brewery. They tasted some good beers ranging from IPA to Lager and Wheat beer and sat in the sun at the parking lot. Richard found a new friend that day: the dog of the brewery owner.
Back at the house, they put Carwyn’s bar to test as well as the Gin and the fizzy drinks they had spotted in the supermarket. It turned out that Carwyn had an old CD collection in the bar and, once again, they traveled a bit through music history. The winner was clearly a best-of album by The Police. Charlie immediately regretted suggesting a drinking game she had played with friends at home before. Whenever they would mention “Roxanne” in the song with the same title, they had to drink. The next song on the playlist was “Message in a bottle” so they could continue the game and drink whenever they sang “S.O.S.” This game seems to be working well with many songs by The Police, but it usually doesn’t end well.
Jamming the night away
Charlie had made it her mission to re-string the guitars in Carwyn’s living room as one of them had only 4 strings left and the other one was a bit rusty. As the next shop was quite far away in Bayonne, she ordered them online, but it took a few days for them to arrive. Once the guitars had been re-equipped, Charlie played a little session on the balcony and Carwyn got very excited. He was even recording her playing and singing, but Charlie is not convinced that anybody would want to see that.
Finally, at Charlie’s last evening at Carwyn’s, she and Richard realized what they had talked about the whole week: a little Jam session. Everybody else had already left and it was just the two of them at the house and Annika, another German girl who had arrived the day before. As it turned out, Richard and Charlie weren’t exactly aligned when it came to taste in music, but they discovered that they both liked the same beers (Blue Moon and Camden Hells) that Charlie had bought earlier in the day with Carwyn. They finally found a few songs they could play and sing together such as “Lean on me” by Bill Withers and “I don’t want to miss a thing” by Aerosmith. Whether that sounded nice should not be discussed on this occasion. Annika wished for “Bed of Roses” by Bon Jovi and Charlie thinks that she managed that quite ok, although Bon Jovi’s songs are very hard to sing. Richard did not even know the song. (How is that possible?)
Once they had realized that they couldn’t agree on any song, Richard suggested coming up with some own songs and as it turned out, he is good at coming up with melodies on the guitar. Both of them rhymed some spontaneous lyrics and they were really making music. One song was a funny take on all the things that had happened during the week and they were laughing about the incident at the party where Charlie had been forgotten, failed surf attempts, and all the people they had made memories with over the past days. Richard felt particularly inspired by the hog and the unicorn that were decorating Carwyn’s living room, but it seemed that they both had a different idea of what the story would be about.
Charlie took the very pragmatic approach and sang about a hog that was hanging on the wall that needed company. Therefore, Carwyn placed the unicorn next to it. Richard was more thinking of a love story of how the two met in the woods.
All good things come to an end
The last song got them in a melancholic mood as they were summarizing a great summer that was about to come to an end. Both would soon have to return to reality. They called the song “Sun between the trees” clearly inspired by the pine trees that were surrounding the house.
As almost everybody had already left before Charlie returned home, the farewell wasn’t as emotional as it usually is at the end of her trips, but she still got a bit nostalgic. So much had happened in just 2 weeks.
