Patty Gudauskas and Jordy Smith, La Graviere, France

“Those sunny and flat days now feel like ages ago,” says photog Ryan Miller of the Quiksilver Pro, France. And we know what he means. The excitement and suspense of a WT event can make lay-days seem like and eternity. “The wild weather has come in and it is beautiful. The rain clouds have chased off the swarms of topless women on the beach, but they’ve also brought the surf. Lots and lots of it, maybe even too much. Trunks are gone and fullsuits are in these days and I’m loving it.” Last night Ryan and pals attended the Globe Year 0000 French premiere, held out in a Seignosse forest. A massive bar out in the woods and “20oz red wine cups filled to the rim made my night,” says Ryan. Ten minutes before curtains, the rain came and flooded everyone out. And it continued into the next day: “Today, Jordy and I set out in the pouring rain to go find something worth surfing that wasn’t totally destroyed by the hard onshores. We sniffed out a few spots to no avail, before heading to the default bank that most of the WT has been surfing and raving about for the past two days. It was a fun left rip bowl, but the howling onshores made it tough. Tons of paddling to stay in the lineup and, if you missed the spot, you would be forced to do a walk around on the beach. Here’s Jordy taking a lap down the beach, while Patty G hammers one home.” For more of Ryan Miller’s awesome work, jump over to his site, here.