Les Dunes - Revisited 2017

Wow - be interested if there are any of the old crew out there still tuned in. It's been five years since my last paddle surf post and sitting in the van at Les Dunes having surfed the shit out of my creaky bones over the last week it seemed like a relevant time to put one out there.

So much has happened over the last five years - Shane and Kath got married and both made Charmaine and myself grandparents with the next generation of paddle surfers. The bungalow project took two years to turn into an amazing dream house. What a trip. The garage got filled up with classic motorbikes and I got fat - on a minimal diet of waves.

So here we are - Charmaine and I nine years after our first visit to Les Dunes and we are one week in to a two week trip. The surf has been kind to an overweight grey bearded, rusty paddle surfer who wants to yell at the dozen or more others out here - ' I was here first'

Is that wrong?  Probably.

Perched on my 8'5 Starboard Pocket Rocket it comes back pretty quick - I loved the 9'3 Hokua and still have it in the garage loft but the years have scarred the beast and it seems like the decent thing to do is retire her gracefully. The Rocket is not the racey section slashing, auto reactive board that the Naish was but her fat nose holds me on its tip in the best approximation on a hang five that I am ever going to get. Also when pushed she throws up spray like a teen at first night freshers.

So I'm here for another week - the surfs building, the bodies aching and the wine is calling - if you spot the post say hi - it would be fun to catch up.