It’s France! (A gallery)

All photos by Damea Dorsey

There’s a tapestry of sights to drink in on a French beach. There’s sand-bottomed waves, much exposed skin, colour, warm sun, and just… vibes. When the Quiksilver Pro lands in town, this vibe swells even more. Even in the morning haze, there’s electricity to be enjoyed. And, some unusual moments, like the image you’ll see above of the nun on the shore. “I’d just arrived in France and wanted to get down to the beach and have a look around,” says our photographer, Damea Dorsey. “I walked down to the very south end of Hossegor’s massive Grande Plage and came across this Nun. She was standing at the waters edge reading or praying. It was surreal to say the least. I like to think she was praying for surf.”

So, what else will we enjoy from Le Penon? You’ll see Mick Fanning emerge from the thick fog. You’ll see Kolohe Andino, who surfs more than anyone on tour, not surfing, but stretching pre-round one heat (which he dominated). You’ll see Laura Enever hitting the eject button, as Damea says, “like a true fashionista.” We’ll be reminded of how Gabriel Medina scooped an 18.17 combined total in round two.

Then, we shall leave the sand. Because, there is so much more to France than just the sand (though the sand is beautiful)! Have the pleasure of the beautiful Malia Manuel site-seeing before departing Hossegor for the final women’s WT stop in Portugal. And then, we dig on John John Florence’s skate kink. “On an event lay day, John John, (brother) Ivan, (filmer/pal) Blake, and I went for a little site seeing session and some lunch in Bayonne,” enlightens Damea. “The boys jumped out of the car, grabbed their skateboards and started tearing apart the parking lot. Thirty seconds into this parking lot jam, Blake looses his brand new board as it rolls off into the canal, never to be seen again.”

The crew then rolled to Jeremy Flores’ newest venture. “Jeremy has recently began converting an old warehouse into the ultimate hang out zone,” says Damea. “There’s a massive skate ramp complete with foam pits, a mixed martial arts training area, weights, punching bags, isometric training equipment, a few loft living spaces for friends and family, and a loft kitchen overlooking it all.” How much do you dig Jeremy Flores now? John John’s sure been vibing on the place and has been skating the ramp every chance he gets (see below).

More visions of France to come soon, and with any luck, in just a few hours’ time…