Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Thursday 7 August 2008

We arrived in Lacanau yesterday in the late afternoon. It’s cloudy and onshore today but me and Beth forced ourselves out of bed and drove down to the Beach in the morning to check out the situation of heats and draws for Pro Junior #3- Oakley, Lacanau.

Beth Mason and Tassy Swallow

We are staying in a town called Hourtin, which is a bit of a drive away from the beach at Lacanau (30 mins or so) so it was a bit of a mission to get down there (especially when you get stuck behind three massive tractors on a country lane forever!)

Anyway, we got down there in the end to find that we actually weren't in until Monday. But we watched a few boys heats then cruised into town to look in some shops and get some washing done at the 'Laverie'.

This coming Friday (after the Oakley Pro Junior) there is a girls 'Miss Kana Beach Cup' WQS competition down at Hourtin Beach (hence part of the reason for not staying in Lacanau). This one isn't part of the Pro Junior Series, but it is just as important if not more as it has an older age range (Open Women's) and those of the older women that do well will be qualifying for the WCT tour.

So I think this contest will be a massive eye opener as well as a lot of fun!

Jumping for Joy

Sunday 3 August 2008

Ok, I think I have had enough of Special K red berries for breakfast every morning; we have been here for nearly a week now. Going down to the comp at stupid O'clock, surfing 2-3 times a day and of course getting a vital sunbathing session or two in somewhere throughout the day- same routine every day.

Beth and I got knocked out a day or two ago by some French/Spanish rippers and the surf reports were not looking great for Sopelana for the next few days. We were ready to move on to the next stop on our trip - Lacanau in France for the Oakley European Pro Junior 3.

We have a sick pad booked and paid for over there (courtesy of the parents!) and the surf looks like it's going to be pumping, all Beth and I have to do is get there in one piece - about a three hour drive on the motorway AND on the wrong side of the road, for Beth, no problem!Μύ

Wednesday 30 July 2008

So far all the British boys who were over here with us had got through their heats and were progressing through to the next round. Today was the beginning of the girls contest.Μύ

It was great having all the British boys down the beach for support as well as Beth and Holly who were competing too, I was hopeful for my heat and ready to just do my best.

In my first heat I had an Australian, a French and a Spanish girl, the waves weren't the best, two feet and pretty fat, but I figured it was quite like the conditions we get at home all the time, and just caught a few waves early on in the heat and picked off the best sets to secure myself through to the next round, knocking out the Ozzie and the Spanish girl.

The rest of the day was a good one for the Brits. Both Holly Donnelly and Beth Mason got through their heats as well as a good number of the older boys. We finished an awesome day with fajitas for supper.

Monday 29 July 2008

Along with Beth's superb driving skills and Tassy's great navigating/map reading work (with a tiny bit of help from the TomTom) means we have arrived safely at Camping Sopela in the late afternoon.

So far we have been down to the beach for a surf (waves were rubbish but looked better when we checked it later in the evening), checked out the local talent on the campsite and on the beach, and had a massive 'entrecote' (steak) and chips.

In fact it was so big I think that they just got a massive cow and cut it into two, cooked it and gave it to me and Beth for dinner, alongside a portion of chips!

Tassy after a surfing session

Right now we're just chilling in the WiFi area with a load of Spanish hippies...

We have talked to some of the locals already and they think the waves are looking good for early morning tomorrow and for over the next few days before the contest.

Beth and I are just gonna surf lots and get some quality tanning time on the beach before the first contest of Tassy and Beth's Summer Roadtrip.