Way Back in Time at the Bay of Biscay

People often ask me where is my favorite place to surf.  And I have to say, that I have a favorite place AND TIME to surf, which is the Bay of Biscay, a spot called Boucou, in the 1970’s in France.

Boucou means (phonetically anyway) “very much.”  This place we called Very Much.  It was a long left barrel, which I often surfed alone, or only with a few others, at most.  I would park my 1959 Peugeot 403 (with the sunroof and seats that folded down into a comfortable double bed) on the south side of the channel around Le Barre, and paddle across the channel to Boucou.  Used to surf it 5 hours, and alone.  Perfect shimmering left barrels.  I would get so tired, I would let perfect waves go by, before taking another wave.    Sometimes I would drive around the Bayonne Harbor, through Bayonne, a long trip about 45 minutes.  But I would have my car to go back to after surfing, so I could have a cigarette and food after surfing.   Learned how to backside tube ride at this spot.   I was in my young 20s, already tasting these finer things in life, glutting myself on this beautiful, empty left barrel.

Boucou, France
The surf spot called Boucou.  It used to be a long left barrel. Not anymore.
Bayone Channel
The channel to the Bayonne Harbor. Used to paddle across this channel, which is between La Barre and Boucou.

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