Hello friends!
Finally we can share our experience from the world’s most popular surf competition! The last 2 weeks we were mostly living around Capbreton, Hossegor and Seignosse, enjoying some good waves but also feeling a bit lost in the crowds of thousands of people who came in France for the final series of the World Surf Championship. For us, everything started with an awesome session just before sunset, a day before the official start. That evening we saw some nice waves and after the long flat week Niki got immediately in the water. Soon after we realized almost all the pro surfers who came for the contest were also in…
It was also on that first night that we knew each of us had a really different point of view for the whole thing:
Niki: I’ve never followed the World surfing tour and wasn’t sure I wanted to participated in this “zoo” but I let Bianka convince me and we stayed… that evening the waves were fun and small and I was happy I got my waves even with the pro’s crowded water. The vibe was strange seeing some of them angry if they couldn’t catch a shitty wave, but I guess this depends on the people…
Bianka: I don’t know about the Championship but it was such a thrill to shoot and what is more – to see for real, the type of surfing I only watched in the movies… I saw amazing things in the water just in front of my eyes, on waves that I wouldn’t call perfect at all. It’s just that some of those people make surfing look so beautiful and effortless! Their level is really out of reach…
However as people coming from a small country such as Bulgaria, which has a short surf history, we both enjoyed being on a place with so many opportunities to experience the different aspects of surfing culture (both positive and negative). After the swell came we did not spend too much time watching the contest itself… Surfing was on first place. And we both think it was a cool experience – meeting pro surfers in and out of the water, on some parking lots – checking for waves, on the beach, or even drinking beers together on one of the many parties… Some of them were really down to earth people… Big up to Parko, Rasta, Dion… But also to all the cool unknown surfers we met – some awesome guys from France, Germany, Switzerland, New Zeeland, US, Australia… We had never seen so much good surfers before and it was inspiring. So that’s about the cool part of it – bringing lots of people to one place, giving them the opportunity to share experiences and to see the progress of the most talented ones…
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| Like this little guy, who was there even at the days with awful wind, riding along with some legends as Dane Reynolds and the Reef Pro team |
And the contest itself – ok we saw some really cool stuff, but at the end we both shared the same opinion and Niki explains it very well: everybody has to do the same thing, the same turn, the same air... The atmosphere on the beach is strange: everyone is focused on the points. Style is something long forgotten for a big part of the people…
And for me this “show” is not what surf is all about. It should be for your soul! I was surfing with at least 60 years old guy who was charging the biggest barrels while the pros around were watching! That’s a soul, boy! So please enjoy the rest of the shots, hope we brought you some of the excitement and the good vibe of the thing :) Keep following for more!
The finals day ... Over excitement while Medina's getting in the water...
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| Crowds starring at the ocean, waiting for the next wave, might be the one to decide the winner |
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| Medina always offering some show |
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| Ocean's coming to get ya... Run ! hahah |
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| Yes! |
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| Happy end for Medina, his surf and happy us to finally say goodbye to the crowds... |
