ITSASONDOAN: Cover                                                     BIARRITZ                                                            Start Page
The côte des Basques   was the one of the first places
in Europe to attract surfers in the 1950's...


BIARRITZ & SURF: "les Tontons Surfeurs".
SURF: (Waves) Ressac.
1956
A team of Hollywood shoot in Biarritz the film adaptation
of the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name:
The sun also rises  (with Tyrone Power & Ava Gardner).

The screenwriter Peter Viertel (then, husband of the actress Deborah Kerr) ask a surfboard to Californe and start
learning to surf into the waves of the Basque coast,
between the shoot of scenes in Biarritz.

The beginnings are difficult. He breaks its surfboard
and find then a man of Biarritz, Georges Hennebutte,
who repair it and, for curiosity, rehearse this sliding game.

A little later, Viertel become friend with a young boy,
Joël de Rosnay, and he passes him its board for the summer.

1957
During summer, between the three, a new sport
is thrown: the riding surfing (surfing horse-riding).

1958
G. Hennebutte invents the "fil à la patte",
ancestor of "leash" ("laisse").
1958-1962
They are a small band of buddies discovering the joys of surfing:
Hennebutte, de Rosnay, Reinhardt, Barland, Etchepare, Moraiz, Laharrague, Plumcocq...
and they will be sympathetically baptized a few years later as:
"LES TONTONS SURFEURS".
1966
A young American magazine, Surfer Magazine, published a six page article about
the fabulous Surf waves of Biarritz

1968-69
Many foreign surfers,
including Mike Diffenderfer,
discover the waves of the Basque coast.
1970-2021
The surfers become more and more
.

The surfing
appears as
a Hedonistic
way of life,
and its culture
is widely turned
to the
respect
for nature
and protection
of
the sea
.
Ponctuée d'un grand phare
et prenant fin
à la Pointe Saint-Martin,

this is the beach where took place
the genesis of surfing in France
,
The flow of the waves
coming from offshore (swell)
is very powerful
and make waves up to 5 meters


So this city became
one of the European poles
and worldwide
of this sport of sliding
Surf school:
SURF FRAINING

Registration:
Côte des Basques
beach.



Accueil:
Tente SurfTraining

(0)559 231 531
Biarritz
is the
European
Surf
Capital.

It's also
a perfect place
for
a beginner
to learn,
even
during  winter.
The Edition of Roxy Jam.
This unique festival mixing culture, surf, art and music gets back to
the legendary "Côte des Basques" beach, where surfing first took place on the continent in 1957.
Entirely free, the event drew 43.000 spectators in 2010.
On 2011, the Roxy Jam Biarritz was inspired by California,
where 20 years ago the Roxy brand was first born
.     
                                                                                  Down here, pictures by John SEVERSON