June 2010 (ROTM #18) Truc Vert, France

Summer is approaching in the Northern Hemisphere which means beach time and if you've ever been to France in the summer, the beaches are packed. I still remember backpacking in August 1988 in the south of France watching news coverage of the crowds of swimmers on the Atlantic coast. The crowds were impressive, but even more amazing were the surfers carving swathes through the hordes. The carnage must have been unbelievable. Yep, France gets some world class surf. It also gets some world class rips.

 I got this picture from Jamie MacMahan, the rip guru of Monterey, California, but I think he got it from Bruno Castelle, the rip guru of France, who probably got it from somebody else. Anyway, it's a great picture and to be honest, it looks like a lot of other surf beaches around the world, particularly Australia. But Truc Vert is in Acquitaine which is near Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast of France. It's got a large tide range that really exposes the rip channels at low tide. You can see all the dark gaps between the white water quite easily. The beach also has an outer sand bar that looks pretty rhythmic on this day. It's also been the site of a lot of beach and rip current experiments lately. Much easier putting in the gear at low tide on big tide beaches!

Fantastic rips along the Acquitaine Coast in France