Meanwhile in Bretagne

l'Hibiscus Party is already organized for the 5th year and always seems to have great conditions. Here are some pictures from the training sessions ;-)

Some days of surfing

We had some nice days at the beach so far. I hit the water quite a few times already ;-)

A couple of days ago we had a really sunny and warm day. Waves were a bit messy though, but loads of fun ;-)

And of course rest is a good thing for a woman who is expecting ;-)

Ella enjoys the beach too....

Even I start acting a little crazy ;-)

Today there were some clouds over the land, but sun al the time at the beach.

And quite nice surf to play with.

Christmas, sweeeet!!!

Sunny, but still messy

We had a very nice day, warm and sunny. But the waves were still messy due to the onshore wind. The swell direction was even a bit more south, making it an even tougher session than the other days. But I enjoyed it ;-)

This is how I like my walk to the beach ;-)

Ella likes it too....

In summer the beach is pretty clean, but in winter it's full of debris.

My must have every time I'm in Portugal: a Francesinha ;-)

Waves in the sky..

Another must have: Bolas de Berlim

At night the clouds came in....

Now it's time to prepare for Christmas dinner tonight..... And pray for some off shore wind the coming two weeks!!

End of the world....

Well, for centuries people actually believed that the west coast of Europe was the end of the world. We are pretty close to the most western point of the European mainland (Cabo da Roca), so you could call this the end of the world. But except from quite a bit of rain, I didn't notice anything like an apocalypse ;-)

The surf was messy though (like it has been all week, basically), but still quite a bit of fun.

Not the nicest weather, but with 15 degrees Celsius air temperature and 13 degrees water temperature it feels like paradise compared to Holland the last time I went out ;-)

A local catching a nice one...

Especially for Rob (Beachbumb) a piece of driftwood. This would be quite a few years of driftwood supplies for you ;-)

On our way down south

On our trips we take good care of our inner selves ;-)

 A classic "Kro" is a must have in France. I like my beers, and I know it's not the best (to say the least), but I guess it's sentimental ;-)

 

Enjoy the quiet beach of St. Jean de Luz. Quiet because of the lack of people, not the lack of waves. Although St. Jean de Luz has a secluded beach due to some concrete walls way out in the ocean, waves were still pumping.

Have a stroll along the boulevard of San Sebastian. Witnessing the benefits of city life: surfing after sunset. You would need quite a full moon to get that amount of light ;-)

Took Ella for a ride on probably the nicest Mary go 'round I've ever seen.

And off course this all was just a teaser for what San Sebastian is really famous for: Tapas!!! Last year our tapas trip got cut short, due to heavy rain and hurricane like winds, which made it almost impossible to walk with a buggy.

First bar. The best calamares ever!!

Second bar. Just pick whatever you want.

Third bar. Same principle, pick whatever you like and at the end of the evening the guy behind the bar KNOWS what you've had. With the crowds that some of these bars have, that's truly impressive.

So, that's the first two days of our Christmas trip. Let's see what the rest brings;-)

Galicia going off!!!

Galicia will be going off coming weekend..... Wave forecast for northern Portugal looks good too for the beginning of next week. Monday and Tuesday: surfing!!! ;-)

Cold rainy session at Maasvlakte

Had a cold and rainy session with Bas at Maasvlakte. It was fun, but a bit choppy due to the extreme current :-(

Looks kinda messy!

Man made landscapes can sometimes be interesting....

.... and make a great scenery. But I guess I prefer nature. Although I see a nice alternative to the Luderitz speed chanel ;-)

These colors come out great in the dark winter days ;-)

High speed backloop

SOS Sails?

2007 was the last year Hot Sails made the SO. Five years later Sean brings the new SO. A custom sail made to Sean's specs by Jason Diffin.... Will it ever go into production? Nah, it's just for Sean himself. But hopefully one day he will start a new line of production windsurf boards. Still love my Classic 88 (although it's starting to fall to pieces now)

A warm place

Time of the year to find a warm place. This fire was a good option for today, but I can't wait to head south again in 2 weeks!

JD

It's All About The Board from Darren Lunny on Vimeo.

Lifeguard

Busy weekend

 On Saturday we headed to the arrival of "Sinterklaas" (dutch version of Santa). The kids loved it!! He arrives on a boat and then...

...jumps on a white horse to ride through the city. With his black helpers, he seems a bit of a racist, but we (the Dutch) tell everyone they are not slaves, but they are actually friends and the black helpers voluntarily work for him!?! Here's a great comedians view on this!

So after all this folklore, we needed some nice lunch...

Sunday was the day of the storm. With winds of 40 to 50 knots, I was glad I just received my 3.7 Superfreak Maui Edition. Great day to test it ;-)

This is the only action shot I have, it was made by Richard with his butt view cam, as he calls it ;-) I am the one "flying" in the back.

Ready

Should be windy tomorrow.... But I'm prepared ;-)

Should be good at first light tomorrow morning. So off to bed early tonight!

Skyfall

Looked out of my office window and saw this beauty of a sunset. After seeing the new 007 yesterday "Skyfall" was the perfect title ;-)