Happy Christmas from the Mamas Surf Club

Taryn and I were going to go out and do the water shot yesterday, we really were.… The sun was shining , there was a perfect glassy little wave and only two guys in the water. The only problem was the temperature ….. hovering around zero. We still considered it, it looked kind of tempting and lethal at the same time.

“I’m warmer than yesterday.” she said.

“Me, too. Then only thing is I’m wearing ski socks, thermal long johns, three jumpers a ski jacket and fur gloves.….. it might be a little colder in the water.”

Then I remembered that the heating had gone in my house.

So what you get instead is this slightly more dramatic shot of Johanna, on the right taking some serious air.…..

Posted by Wilma 

Photo Mark Shapiro 

Christophe Reinhardt on Women and Waves

Before I ever met Christophe Reinhardt, I came to Guéthary on holiday and bought a postcard of him in the village shop. He was surfing a big wave with his daughter Valentine held delicately above his head on one arm, and a garland of hibiscus flowers round his neck. It was an exotic image, and I wanted to be a part of it. By a fortunate turn of events, I ended up living here and Christophe taught me to surf, although I was a little disappointed when he told me that I might be a little too heavy for that particular move.

Walking into his living room, you’re left in no doubt that you’re in a surfer’s house. There are boards everywhere, leaning against the walls, and suspended from the ceiling on pieces of driftwood. Pride of place goes to his red Lightning Bolt boards from Hawaii, which he surfed at Sunset and Pipeline in the seventies - big wave riders trophies hanging on the walls like a big-game hunters antelope heads.

There are photos of the Reinhardt family- his father Bruno, one of the pioneering surfers of the fifties, his teenage son Bruno ripping on his short board, and baby Lina kitted out in nappy and life vest for her first trip out to the peak.…

So with his background as French champion and big wave hellman, how did he feel about scouring the coast for the smallest possible wave with a group of forty year old women. Some of whom - I’ll stand up and be counted - were terrified of a knee-high shore break.

“What’s the question again? How did I feel about getting in the water with ten beautiful women in bikinis?” Always charming. “Do you know that my instructors were fighting about who got to work with the Mamas every Saturday.”

But did you really think you’d be able to teach us to surf? I, for one, was touched by Christophe’s belief that I might one day be able to paddle out back and take a wave by myself …… standing up. I thought he’d seriously overestimated my potential, and it’s a tribute to his patience that he never gave up on me.

“I can teach anyone to stand up, that’s the easy part. But what I was really impressed by was your determination. I wasn’t sure that you’d really keep going, but you seem so motivated, some of you have got really keen. Or more than that …..what’s the word?”

“Obsessed?” I suggest.

“No” Johanna corrects me, “the word is addicted!”

“I feel like it really changed your lives, the fact that you did it, and that you overcame your fear.…. You know surfing is my life, and I love being able to transmit my passion to other people . Or to put it another way.....surfing is my addiction and I love getting other people hooked.” We all laugh. 

“Talking of which, you’ll have to excuse me, Wilma,” he takes a long red board from the wall, “I love talking to you Mamas, but I think Avalanche is working and if I stay here chatting too long, the wind might go onshore.” 

Avalanche - the name says it all- it’s not called Snowdrop, it only breaks when the swell is massive and it’s Christophe’s favourite wave. 

This is how it looked at Avalanche today. Mamas are glad they got in the water yesterday before it got up to 4 metres..... nice and glassy and not at all too small in Hendaye! Best dressed surfeuse award went to Taryn. She was Christmas shopping in Biarritz when she got the call, she didn't want to miss the tide so she just grabbed her board and arrived in a lovely satin dress.    

                                                                                                                         

Photo by Wilma                           

Winter Wonderland

Today is the last meeting of the Mamas before the winter break. As the swell looks like staying over three metres, that’s going to be in the AirTT tapas bar in the village. Johanna is off to spend Christmas in winter wonderland in Northern Sweden, then to Verbier for the ski season.

Winter isn’t very long in Biarritz, but it does happen. Anyone who can gets out for a month or two round new year, that way you can miss it altogether and arrive back for spring all fresh and tanned. Snow Queens like Johanna head to the glaciers, other people bubble wrap their boardbags and take the long haul to Bali, Brazil or Australia.

The rest of just us head down to the surf shop to buy a new pair of neoprene gloves and booties. Personally I draw the line at the cagoul - if it’s that cold, I sit in the car with the heating on, getting vicarious pleasure from watching the hardcore guys getting gnarly waves and ice-cream head. We’d all love one of those new suits with battery operated heating system. I haven’t got one yet, but I have got the next best thing- Mamas top winter tip - a plastic bag to put on your car seat so you can drive home and get in a hot bath without getting changed. Take a can of Hinano Tahiti beer with you and your almost in Polynesia.

Winter is unpredictable. It can go two ways.…. some days you step outside and the Bay of Biscay is behaving

 exactly as it would in a sea shanty. It’s time to batten down the hatches and break open another bottle of grog. Or chill the rosé and go down to the salt water spa in Hendaye. Then a couple of days later you wake up and it’s 20 degrees...centigrade.... in January. The waves are perfect and they’re empty. Your heart goes out to those poor jet-lagged jet-setters in Indo fighting their way through the shorebreak on Kuta beach with a thousand australian tourists. 

And you think, “Oh, yes, sometimes I win!”

POSTED BY WILMA

Photo of Johanna by Felix Oppenheim

Big Monday

Today is definitely a day for staying on the beach and watching the big boys playing with their big toys ..... yes, it's one of the few days of the year that we're actually glad jet-skis were invented. That's because the XXL wave at Belharra is going off, and the guys are towing in to waves which get up to 40ft faces. It breaks a mile out from St. Jean de Luz, the rest of us just stand on the cliff above going "Ooh", and "Aah" while the big wave heroes take off on monster waves like this. 

First you ask yourself - how do they do that? Then you wonder why do they do that? I guess the answer is ... because they can. Awesome is the only word.

Mamas Surf week in Biarritz 05/06/10 to 12/06/10

Champagne and waves in the home of French surf culture.
Biarritz Ladies Surf Week is a luxury surf holiday for women of all ages who want to learn to surf. From our own experiences in the water- and on the beach- we think it really is better to learn with other women. We love men but we do find that they tend to get just a tiny bit macho where extreme sports are concerned! If you’ve ever tried to take lessons from a boyfriend or husband, you’re probably already sick of being told that the biggest wave of your life was ‘ about six inches. Learning to surf is one of the most exciting things you’ll ever do, and Biarritz is the perfect place to do it, combining world class waves with the laid back chic of Europe’s historic surf Mecca. The resort first became fashionable in the Belle Epoque, when it was visited by people like Picasso and Ernest Hemmingway. Then in the 1950s the pioneers of French surfing moved in - the sport of the kings and queens of Hawaii became the sport of the beautiful people. Since then the faded glamour of the Art Deco casinos and Russian tea houses has been given a new lease of life by the arrival of the international surf community.
The waves are world class, from empty beach breaks on picturesque sandy beaches to the legendary big wave spots at Guethary, with a backdrop of the corniche and the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Seven years ago Johanna Matsson arrived in Biarritz from Verbier, where she was a professional free skier, competing in the world tour, and heli-ski-ing in the Andes and Himalayas. She was hooked on surfing after her first session, and swapped the mountains for the waves -endless winter for endless summer.
It was here that she met her husband Christophe Reinhardt, whose father Bruno was one of the first surfers on the Basque coast. Christophe started taking waves at the tender age of three, and went on to become French champion , but he’s best known as a fearless big wave rider, surfing in Pipeline and Sunset in Hawaii, and his home breaks at Guethary and Avalanche. He has over twenty years experience as a surf instructor.

In 2004 the couple set up the Mamas Surf Club, with the idea of getting women out of the kitchen and into the surf. It was an eclectic group of women from 20-50 years old, who had ended up in Guethary from all over the world, Lappland, Idaho, London, Amsterdam. In the original group, most had children, and most were married to surfers and had tried over the years to learn with their partners - with very little success. Their fitness levels ranged from keen sportswomen to women who kind of meant to join the gym - one day. But they all learned to surf and had a lot of fun doing it - there were cakes and hot coffee on the beach in winter, barbequeues in the summer. And of course an apres surf glass of rosé in one of the local beach bars, watching the sun set over the Spot, and reliving the waves and wipeouts of the day.
So we’re sticking to the same plan here. We’ve got team of fully qualified instructors, including Johanna and Christophe of course, who know all the local spots, swell conditions, tides and wind directions, so we can take you to whichever wave is working best. With several instructors we can split the group according to your ability, so beginners might go to the beach break others go to the peak, and there’s a high instructor student ratio, so you’ll get some one on one coaching in every session.
What we want to share with our guests is the exhilarating experience of surfing, and the lifestyle as well. That means oysters in the markets, shopping in Biarritz, a trip down to Spain for tapas, aperitifs in the beach bars in Guéthary, and gourmet French food. (Don’t worry about not fitting into your wet suit at the end of the week, you’ll burn off thousands of calories in the water. Believe us, when you surf, you need to eat!)
There’s also a free massage for every guest, and two yoga classes during

the week.
You’ll be staying at a private lodge with swimming pool and tennis courts in the Domaine de Bassilour, an 18th century chateau in parkland 3km from the coast. Every day we’ll give you breakfast, take you on a four hour surf lesson, timed on the conditions. Then you can either join in activities, explore on your own, or relax on the beach. We’ve got professional chef at the lodge, and are also planning a night out in a local restaurant, a plancha barbecue prepared by Christophe and a wine tasting evening- we’re working on getting sponsored by a champagne company!
The price of the week is 950 euros which includes 7 nights accomodation, with breakfast and dinner, 6 days of surf lessons including all your equipment, massage and yoga, and transport to and from the breaks and airport pick-up.
Flights are not included but you can get very cheap deals on Ryanair.

Brownie Recipe

This is a family recipe handed on from daughter to mother .... I'm not great at baking, so when we had after surf tea parties on the beach, my 11 year old daughter made these Brownies for the Mamas. Don't worry she surfs too, I don't leave her in the kitchen while I'm on the beach!

Wilma.

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter

200g dark chocolate ( at least 70% cocoa french dessert chocolate is perfect)

50g walnuts, roughly crushed (optional)

80g pure cocoa powder

65g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

360g caster sugar

4 large free range eggs

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Line a 25cm baking tray with greaseproof paper, or just butter it well. Melt the chocolate and butter together either in a bowl in a pan of boiling water, or in a microwave (this doesn't take long don't burn it). Add the nuts and stir it up. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder in a separate bowl, then add the butter and chocolate. Beat the eggs and mix them in.

Pour the mix into the baking tray and cook fro about 20 minutes. If you stick a knife in, you don't want it to come out clean like with a cake - they're nicer when they're gooey.