The Duck Dive #2
The Duck Dive #2
The QuikPro France is dead, long live the QuikPro France
Despite being one of the most iconic and favorite events in the Championship Tour for the past 10 years, the French stop was taken off the WSL’s agenda for the seasons to come in a restructuring of the tour.
Here is why it’s sad, and a recap of the things we’ll miss next year.
Why was it a unique surf spot on the world tour?
The tides crawl up and down the beach very quickly in Hossegor so the quality of the break changes radically in 20 min, as more or less water lies above the sand bars. “You know what to expect at Pipeline or Teahupoo, but Hossegor has the magic of the unexpected, and that has to be kept on tour”. You could have given a couple more predictable waves on the world tour like Bells, Snapper, J-bay, Margaret river… but fair point brother! Hossegor sand bars get re-shuffled every year and are constantly evolving with currents, waves and winds. It’s a lot more dynamic. On any break, surfers scrutinise the sea for as long as possible before paddling out. They seek advice from their coaches and mind-surf the horizon to know exactly where to sit, where the wave accelerates, where it slows down and where the big air ramp shows up. In Hossegor, they do just that, except they have no idea if what they saw from the dune will still be relevant at the start of their heat, when the tide, wind and sand banks will have changed.
If the essence of surfing is to feel, anticipate, and adapt to change, Hossegor was the perfect arena to challenge pro surfers in their ability to connect to the ocean.
‘Nuff said, show my the damn “Gravière”!
Yessir, gladly! I picked a few goodies from over the years, just click on the videos and enjoy (at least) the first wave you see!
That wave (above) got every one going crazy - If you’re not accustomed to watching surf videos, let’s say a surfboard is not meant to slide down the face of the wave the way it does at the beginning of the ride. At all. Like never. Even the camera man thought Kelly was gone.
Hossegor? More like Hosse-gore!!!
Basically, la Gravière turns heavy swells into nasty, powerful and hollow waves that will break no more than 20 meters from dry sand. For some reason, surfers absolutely crave it. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the really stars had to align for the Quik Pro to deliver those monstrous barrels. That’s what made it so magical: La Gravière decided when the show was on, and surfers had to make the most of it. When a window opened up for contest to run with solid waves, athletes would enter a kind of frenzy that led them to try hardcore barrels, often vigorously smooching the sandbars 🥰. Just ask Owen Wright or Adam Melling bellow:
“That's the best losing heat I've ever had. They were sick waves. I would have broken 20 boards to get one of those lefts.” 🤨
At this point, you’re probably thinking “Wait so the Quik Pro was about having the best surfers in the world go full-on warrior mode in a wildly dangerous natural arena, all 20m from the shore?” Precisely, and while we were doing whatever boring things we usually do in October, the crowds were absolutely loving it, firing the athletes to deliver even more. Hossegor was truly special for that, too. Jeremy Flores (French) spent 10 years beating the world’s best all around the planet. Last Year, he made history winning in France for the first time. Here’s how it felt:
Here’s more footage. Seeing how keen these guys are on risking a few bones for these tube rides makes me wonder if we are missing out on some kind of atomic adrenaline. Maybe we all need to grow a pair and find out once and for all.
IG of the week: Bombs Awayyy!
I want to hear some “Bomb’s Awayyy!” next time you catch a wave! Also, let’s pick up this 5 years old’s manners and become the gentlemen surfers we ought to be ASAP.
Song of the week
Share this post with someone who doesn’t know about surfing and someone who loved the event !
Yes, grow a pair!